


Harry Styles - Always your princess

by ScorpyR



Category: 1D - Fandom, Harry Styles - Fandom, One Direction (Band), harry edward styles - Fandom
Genre: 1d, F/M, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, Grammy Awards, Growing Up, Growing Up Together, Harry Styles - Freeform, Harry Styles Teenager, Heart Attacks, Heartbreak, Hurt Harry Styles, Makeup Sex, Making Up, Mentioned One Direction, One Direction Break Up, One Direction Preferences, One Direction References, One Direction Tours, Post-Break Up, Post-Zayn One Direction, Sex, Shower Sex, Surgery, Teenage One Direction, Teenager, Teenager love, Tour, Zayn Leaves One Direction, harry - Freeform, harrystyles, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-10-31 14:45:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17851571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpyR/pseuds/ScorpyR
Summary: From the moment Harry Edward Styles laid his eyes on me he knew we were meant to be. We were just little kids when he showed me what friendship really means and we grew up together as best friends.As brother and sister.But as his career in music proceeded, our hearts got all confused,  creating a mix of confusion, attraction and, at last, love in its purest form.What will happen when we started feeling things that weren't there before - or we were just too distracted to even notice it - but our divergent paths kept us away from each other?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> I'm starting a new story about Harry Styles :)  
> I'll be updating here and on Wattpad.  
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/179119727-harry-styles-always-your-princess
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was born at the beginning of December 1993. 

 

My childhood was rough. You know how kids are right? They can be the kindest little angels you can only imagine, but they could be the devil himself and turn your life into a living hell. And they chose the second one with me.

I had severe heart disease, so I couldn't do so many things as normal kids, so they just mocked me with no mercy. Without having any friends to stand up for me, I was too weak to even stand up for myself. I would always end up locked in the bathroom, crying until my mother picked me up from school.

"Baby, I know it's hard." My mother would say to comfort me. "It angers me to see you suffer this way. I know you feel that rage yourself and many would say to use that anger and fight them in the same way. But my sweet Angel, no matter what people do to you, you need to spread nothing else but love. We need to be kind even with your worse enemy."

"But mom," I said wiping my tears away with my tiny fingers. "They can be so mean some times."

"Yes, they do." She would hug me and rock me back and forth on the bathroom' floor. "Life can be cruel and make you doubt everything, but kindness is the key to live it fully."

And I would cry almost every day on her chest until I relaxed and was ready to go home.

This was my quotidian for two years after starting school in Cheshire. But not once I refused to go to school. Not once I refused to learn new things and go back home chatting about everything I had learned that day.

My third year was a table turn. There was a new kid that would change my life.

"Hi everyone, I would like to introduce you to your new friend, Harry Edward Styles. He changed school and he will be with us for now on. Please, introduce yourself. Tell us things about you and your family." The teacher said and Harry looked at her with a smirk. 

"Hi, I'm Harry. I was born on the 1st of February 1994 in Redditch. My parents work on finances. I moved with my parents to Holmes Chapel and I have an older sister. She's awesome. I hope I have fun with all of you." He said with that same proud smile he had before. 

Wow, he is nice, I thought to myself.

Usually, kids in new schools are shy and don't know what to say. But not him. He wasn't afraid of the audience. In fact, he did seem to enjoy it.

"Very well!" The teacher said surprised with his boldness. "Now, I want every single one of you to introduce yourself. Just say your name."

One by one, some shyer than others, said their names out loud and when my time has come there were small giggles from the other kids and I heard them calling me names like "freak", "heartless girl" and other mean names. 

I looked at Harry right in his light eyes - I couldn't actually decipher from afar if they were grey, green or blue. - and tears were already threatening to fall down my cheeks.

Gulping and clenching my fists under the table I spoke loud enough to be heard.

"Hi. I'm Angelina, but everyone calls me Angel." Well, not everyone, just my parents. "Welcome to our school, I hope you like it" And I smiled at him, discreetly wiping a tear that betrayed me.

Harry looked at me and smile so genuinely that I felt my heart warm for the first time in my life. And as he was walking to the chair our teacher indicated him he eyed the kids that were being mean to me and gave them a harsh look.

On lunch break, I sat alone in the table on the corner side of the cafeteria, never bothering the kids that passed by joking around.

I was not hungry, so I was just rolling the pasta around my fork, lost in my thoughts when I sensed someone sitting by my side. Closing my eyes and sighing I was sure it was Goyle and that he wanted to steal my food as he normally does.

But when I didn't feel his usual evil slap on the back of my neck I looked up and saw the most beautiful shiny green eyes looking right into mine.

"Harry?" I gasped.

"I hope this seat is not taken." He said with a weak smile on his face.

"Not at all," I said, looking down back to my food. "No one never sits there unless they want to steal my lunch."

"Why is that?" He asked very worriedly, still with a smile plastered on his face.

When I opened my mouth to speak we were interrupted by Goyle, Marcus, Ginny, Victoria, and Mika. They were all looking at Harry, totally ignoring my presence.

"Harry, why don't you sit with us? You look so... lonely on this table." Goyle spoke with a mocking tone at the end of his sentence.

"I'm not lonely. Angel was actually talking with me." Harry smiled at me and looked back to Goyle with a defiant gaze.

"Well, she doesn't count. She's a freak, dude. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." Goyle said throwing at me one piece of pasta from his plate. I didn't even move or flinch. I kept my head down, staring at my food, hoping this would end soon. Waiting for Harry to get up and go with them.

And when he finally did get up, he said words that I will never forget.

"I think I can I decided by myself who the wrong sort of friends is." Harry picked up the piece of food Goyle had threw at me and put it gently back on his plate with an open smile on his face.

Goyle was about to speak when our teacher passed by us and pulled him to the side.

"You're not picking on Angel again, are you? You know that I'll send a note to your parents. In fact, I might even call them to school and let them know about how your math test was. Between us, you were the best in the class... If we turn the list upside down. Study and leave the girl alone! Understood?" Goyle just nodded and gulped, going back to his table.

The rest of the students were gone in a matter of seconds and I was left alone with Harry.

Mouth opened with surprise, I was eyeing him while he peacefully ate his food as if nothing had happened.

"What?" Harry said with a smirk on his lips.

"That was... amazing!" I sounded too excited for my taste.

"Was it?" I nodded, eyes widened looking at him, but my expression melted away when he smiled at me. "Do they give you a hard time?"

"You have no idea." I sadly said, smiling very weakly now. I don't know why but my mouth kept moving until I tell him everything about me, my disease and how they mock me for that.

"You can't make any kind of physical activities?" He asked curiously, biting the edge of his bread.

"Kinda. I have this watch here." I showed him my wrist with my heartbeat tracker. "When my heart beats too fast I get an alarm to calm down. I can't reach higher rates. If that happens..." I took the purple case from my backpack and showed him the needles and the medicine "... I have to take one of these and go to the hospital, otherwise, my heart could stop beating for good."

He was shocked looking at me. A mix of confusion, sadness, and curiosity across his face.

"And there's no cure for that?" He asked, putting the bread on the table.

"No. My parents tell me one day I will have a new heart. But it seems that I have a special type of characteristics that are hard to find in other people's' hearts, So I have to wait until I grow up to do that surgery." I explained.

Observing the way he went to a contemplation trance I sighed, afraid that I was talking too much and that I would scare him away. 

"I understand if you don't want to be friends with me. The other kids don't like a girl that cannot play with them." I said looking down as I put the medicine back to my bag.

"They make fun of you for that?" He seemed hurt by the thought of it and when I nodded in a sadly affirmative way, he lifted my chin and smiled. "Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you? After what you told me I look at you as... a delicate flower? To be treated with love. Or, mmm..." He looked up as if he was trying to find the right name, his index finger on his chin as he was debating inside his head. "Oh-oh, I know! You will be my delicate princess and as a prince, I will protect you from the dragon Goyle. Will you give me the honor of being your protector?"

A tear stroll down my cheek as I laughed and said "yes", hugging my very first best friend that changed my life and the way other kids looked at me.

****

Luckily, our parents became best friends and were always together, so we had the chance to grow up side by side, for the good and the bad.

When Harry's' parents divorced, he was so sad. He climbed my window and passed the night with me when his parents told him the wrecking news. He cried so much because he couldn't understand how his parents could give up their marriage for reasons they don't even bother to tell him nor his sister.

But as always, he would find the strength to smile and make me laugh.

We passed all the school years together, learning new things every day, studying and playing around with each other as siblings as our friendship was stronger each minute that passed.

At a point in his life, his passion for music ignited something inside him. Ever since we were little, he learned to play guitar and would sing for me. He loved Elvis Presley and the first time he sang it to me it was amazing. He sang perfectly "Can't help falling in love with you".

"So? What do you think?" He asked with a timid look.

"WHAT DO I THINK?" I jumped excitedly on his bed. "You were amazing! You looked like a real rockstar."

"Really?" He hugged me. "You know that's what I dream about ever since I was a kid. - Being a singer. Spreading words of love in my songs. - And... I've got an audition for a local band."

Throwing myself at him, I hugged him by his neck very tightly, not containing the happiness I was feeling for him. 

"Hey, hey, let's not count our chickens before they hatch." He said pulling away from my embrace. 

"Oh, shush, you know you will be chosen. You sing amazingly! Like an angel!" Harry blushed and smiled. Cute. "What's the band name?"

"Promise me you won't tell anyone. If I don't get chosen don't tell anyone, please." I kissed my crossed fingers and he smiled. "White Eskimo".

"I promise I won't tell anyone if you promise you won't forget me when you're all famous and with all the girls throwing panties and bras at you while you're on stage breaking hearts with your sweet voice." I crossed my arms and lifted a brow at him.

"Aw, you know I only have eyes for my girl." He pulled me to a hug and kissed the top of my head as he caressed my hair very gently. "You'll always be my princess. I promise you."


	2. Chapter 2

The past few weeks, Harry was completely absent. After that night when he told me was having an audition to the White Eskimo, he came to me the next day with exciting news.

"Guess what?" He announced, bursting through my bedroom' door. My mother didn't mind his presence, she trusted the boy as if he was her own son. So he would often do that - enter our house and look for me.

"What?" I jumped out of bed, startled with his sudden presence.

"Guess who's the main singer of the White Eskimo?" Harry asked, already pulling me for a hug.

With a proud smirk on my face, I joked with him a bit. "They didn't choose you then."

"Silly!" He pushed me back to my bed and I started laughing out loud. "They picked me."

"Congratulations, Harry!" I threw my arms around his neck, in a tight hug. Ever since I know him he aspires to be a singer. Harry loves music, he sees it everywhere. And now he had a chance to start somewhere and I couldn't be happier for him. "I told you, you would be chosen!"

"Now we'll have to rehearse. They have original songs, lots of them actually. Great songs! I can't wait to play them for you." He said with a dreaming look on his eyes as he let his body fall on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "I know it's not much, but we have to start somewhere, right?"

"Harry, it's not much? It's huge." I lay on the mattress, mimicking his gaze, shoulder against shoulder. "I wish you the best luck in the world. You have talent. You're pretty. And you have a great heart. You're going to be a rockstar"

As I was talking about what I think about him, he diverted his head to me, his eyes penetrating my skin as words came out spontaneously. I didn't mind looking at him, but something about that silence was awkward and bothering me for some reason.

"So. You think I'm pretty, huh?" Thank god the room was a bit dark, I was actually relaxing with some calm music, incense, and cucumber slices on my eyes, so the ambiance was dim - this way he didn't see me blush.  _But why would I blush with his comment?_ "Hello? Are you there?" He interrupted my shyness.

"Well, you're boring, so I fell asleep. What were you talking about?" I tried to joke around, as a way to ease the redden in my face. He threw a pillow at me and I burst into laughing like a maniac as he tickled me.

"You think I'm boring? Let's see how boring you'll think I am when I'm on a stage, millions of fans screaming for my name and you'll be in the middle of them, trying to have a glimpse of the pretty guy here." He pretended to be pouting and getting ready to leave.  _Cute_.

"Well, I'll be waiting for that to happen, rockstar," I said throwing him the same pillow against his back, making him stop near the door.

With one last look, he smiled so sweetly at me and winked. "You'll see."

And now, now that I'm bored studying in the library I wondered how his rehearsals are going. I wondered if everything was ok with the bad. He hasn't called nor sent me any message and he even ignored the one that I sent yesterday. We will have a maths test in a few days and he hasn't even shown up in classes. - That's not like him.

So after a few days, I decided to show up at his house, expecting to find him at dinner time.

"Hey, Angel, sweetheart. How are you doing?" His mother, Anne, asked when she opened the door. "Come on in."

"I'm fine. I'm wondering if Harry's home?" I asked with a bit of hope in my voice.

"Oh, you just missed him. He's been so busy with the band. Rehearsing all the time. They are preparing some new music since their trying to get a contract for a record." She saw my surprised face. "He didn't tell you?"

"No." I kinda felt disappointed really. Whenever anything happens, Harry ran right to my room to tell me about it. I was always the first person to know things about him and I hoped that when something like this happens, I would be the first he goes to.

"I'm sorry, dear. He's been too focused on this. It's his dream after all."

"I know. It's ok." I was turning around to leave when something occurred in the back of my head. Something that I didn't want to ask, but my mouth moved by itself. "Hey, do you have the address where he's rehearsing?"

"Yes, honey. I'll write it down for you." She grabbed a paper and a pen and handed it to me. I read it and thanked her before grabbing my scooter and ride it to the place indicated. 

I never explored this part of the city. It was actually degraded, dark and scary -  _Is this where Harry been coming every day? Jeez._ As I made my way throughout the old houses that looked like they were made in a scary movie, I felt someone observing me through the windows like I was some kind of alien specimen. I cursed Harry under my breath,  _couldn't he just chose a place safer than this?_

When I finally arrived at the address I double check it to make sure I was in the right place. I heard no sound, no music, no singing - which was odd. So I knocked on the door once. Twice. Thrice. But no one answered the door.

"Are you looking for the boys?" An old lady's' voice startled me as I jumped against the door.

"Shit! You scared me." I took a look at the lady and she seemed homeless: knee-length skirt, a thick torn sweatshirt that was too big for her, a purple beanie that didn't match the dirty orange clothes and her hair was tangled.

"I'm sorry. May I ask why does a young lady like you in a dangerous place like this?" She asked, examining my figure and my purse. I tighten my grip around the purse and her eyes traveled back to mine.

"I'm looking for a friend. He's a singer. White Eskimo, do you know them?"

"Well, I know the boys. But they're not here. They left a few minutes ago for a small performance, according to them." She said. "They are good boys, giving me food every day and singing to me. That boy... uh... Harry? He has a sweet voice. Do you know him? He's new here."

"Yeah, he's my best friend." I smiled, relaxing for the first time since I arrived at that place.

"Aren't you a lucky gal? They told me they would be playing at the Center Bar, at 9 P.M. So leave now, you still make it in time" She hushed me. I thanked her and returned to my motorcycle, riding away from that place,  _thank god_.

I went to that bar once in my life. They usually invite local bands to play and some of those bands are even lucky when some important music headhunter hears them and take them to the stardom.

When I got inside the bar, I felt some heads turning to me, staring at me and it was creepy. I approached the barwoman and asked her about the band. She just informed me to sit and wait, that they would soon play. So I did as she told me, sat by the bar and asked some soda.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to introduce you to a new promising local band. Their just kids but they have so much talent. Please give it up for the White Eskimos!!!" And everyone started clapping, unsure of what to wait.

I looked behind me and stared at the small stage at the end of the bar, where some guys were taking their places, picking up their instruments and started to play some music. And after a while, there he was: Harry Edward Styles, grabbing the mic and spreading his magic. 

The audience was enjoying the show. I heard some good critics amongst the crowd and decided to approach the stage slowly without getting noticed by Harry. He closed his eyes while he was singing but when he opened those green orbs scanned the crowd, only to close them once more.

One of those times he looked at the audience his eyes finally met mine and he froze in place but didn't stop singing. He just stared at me with an unreadable face and let his divine voice to its wonders.

And once they were finished, the crowd was clapping, whistling and screaming for them as they bowed to them. 

Harry jumped out of the stage and approached me with a deep hug.

"What are you doing here, princess?" He asked, planting a kiss in my head.

"Well, I missed you and since you were away I asked your mother for the address of your bands' place. And when I got there, a kind lady told me where you were."

"Aw, Milla told you. She's nice. So what did you think about us?" He asked as the rest of the bad approached us, curious with the new girl.

"You were amazing. I always knew you were talented. But his? You belong here, you belong on the stage!" 

The rest of his bandmates thanked me for the praise. "Who's she? Is she your girlfriend?" One of them asked in a mocking tone and I felt myself blushing.

"Stop it, man. She's Angel, the one I talked to you about." Harry answered.  _He talked about me? That's nice._

Then he introduced me to his new friends, Haydn, Nic, and Will - such nice guys - and we chatted about their plans for the future. Harry remained oddly quiet while his friends were too excited with my presence there. Often I looked at him and he smiled very weakly, becoming serious soon after.

Later that night I decided to go home and got up to leave, but Harry grabbed my hand and asked me to go with me, to make sure I arrived home safely. I just nodded at him and said my goodbyes to the rest of the guys.

"They seem nice," I told Harry when we were putting our helmets in our heads.

"Yes, they are. Will seemed to like you a lot." He stated with a bitter tone on his voice.

"You think?" I asked my mind already in another place, not hearing what he was saying.

And after that day, Harry remained silent for months, only answering my phone calls or messages once in a while. I missed him a lot, actually. But whenever we talked on the phone it was like he never left. So that means he didn't stop being my friend like he was, he was just too busy.

Often he called me to ask me to show up at their rehearsal site, to hear a new sound. He said Will insisted on asking me to hang out with them and I always ended up going. Sometimes I would take my books with me and study while they rehearsed. And I was really enjoying spending times with them, with Harry.

One night, I was playing on my computer late when I heard a knocking on my window. 

I lift my eyes and saw a smiling Harry, hanged on the balcony asking me to open the window for him. It was freezing out there, he could have come from the front door.

"Are you nuts? It's fucking cold outside."

"That's why I wanted to come in." He mocked me and sat on my desk. "Whatcha playing, princess?"

Rolling my eyes, I saved my game and turned off my computer. 

"Bioshock. It's nice." Something about his nervous and excited face triggered my curiosity. I knew something was up. For months he didn't come to my house, especially at this time of the night, and especially not by the window. I raised a brow at him, crossed my arms and leaned in my chair, waiting for him to spit it out.

"I'm considering on doing something crazy." He ended up talking.

"Jump off a cliff?" I asked and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Ha-ha. Funny -- No." He made a dramatic pause, trying to cause suspense. "I'm going to apply for X-Factor." I widened my eyes, amazed with his decision and he laughed. "The rest of the guys don't want to go, but they insisted for me to try by myself. They think I have what it takes to win."

"That's... crazy!" I hugged him. "I'm proud of you." I felt his body tense when I planted a kiss on his cheeks like I used to do. But this time, he acted differently and ended up hugging me by my waist, pulling me closer to him. I could swear I felt him smelling the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent, but I didn't even move. His hug was comfortable, it felt like home, like the friend I met a few years ago, but... different.

And we remained hugged for quite some time, feeling our bodies connected to each other.

Eventually, I pulled away and walked away from his nearness. Something was going on inside me, I felt butterflies inside my belly like I never felt before. I shook those thoughts away when as a whisper he spoke.

"I want you to go with me. To be by my side. Either I'm selected or not."

I eyed him carefully. Whenever something this big happened, he never wanted anyone with him. He always wants to keep it a secret until he knows what will happen. Why ask me to go with him to something so big as this?

What I didn't expect was my mouth to speak these words out loud. I only acknowledged what I was asking when I saw his embarrassed face.

"Because you're... you. You're my best friend." He approached me. "My little princess. I know I've been away, but you never left my heart. You're special, you know that. That's why I want you with me when I apply for the show." He pulled me to his embrace, looking me in the eyes.

Looking at his green orbs felt like the first time we met when he saved me from my bullies. But there was something else there. Some shining light that wasn't there before. His eyes scanned my eyes like he was looking for something. But then his eyes took another way, traveling to my lips for a while and back to my eyes.

Something snapped him out of his trance and he pulled me to a hug, sighing. I felt his body trembling but I didn't pay too much attention, he could be nervous about the show, right?


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm so sorry, Harry," I said when he finally had the decision from the X-Factor selection. He wasn't picked up when he applied for the "junior" category. The look on his face broke my heart, as he was looking down when we left the "judges house".

"It's ok. It was not meant to be." Harry tried to smile, but it was just a slight twist of the corner of his lips and he remained quiet until we arrived home. I invited him to go with me to my room and he shrugged, following me upstairs.

I turned on my TV and I played a movie, to get him distracted, but his face never changed from his sad smile. I neared his body, connecting my hand with his in a supportive manner and he looked at me with his green shiny eyes. I smiled at him weakly and he mimicked me before watching the movie attentively, without daring to move our hands from each other.

Slowly I felt my eyes heavy, threatening to close. I fought them hard but they ended up winning the battle and I drifted away to a peaceful night of sleep.

When my eyes finally opened up, the sun was blinding my vision, since I forgot to close the blinds. My body started to wake up and I wanted to stretch it and get out of the bed. But when I started moving I felt some weight on my waist. I looked down and there was an arm there. And it was not mine.

Slowly I turned around in my bed and saw a peacefully sleeping Harry, previously spooning me.

I gasped. 

He didn't move.

He actually had this... heavenly aura around him, as his chest was moving slowly up and down and his eyes remained shut. Harry was turning into a beautiful young man, that's for sure. But that was something else. He looked divine like he was some kind of sacred angel.

Without thinking my hand moved towards his face to caress gently his face and pull his hair back. I smiled as he didn't even flinch with my touch. - he actually smiled and pulled me close by my waist.

I was frozen, not daring to move but relaxed when I felt his scent from his chest and as I heard his peaceful heartbeat.

For quite some time I didn't move, nor wake him up, but he started to do it by himself, groaning softly as his eyes started opening slowly. At first, he didn't acknowledge where he was, but after a few seconds, when I look up and his eyes met mine, his sleepy expression melted and his face illuminated itself, with the sweetest smile I've ever seen.

"Good morning, princess." He yawned. "I'm sorry, I fell asleep."

"It's alright," I said, moving away from his embrace into a sitting position. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like an angel." Harry smiled and mimicked my position. "I should go. My mother is going to freak out if she founds out I've slept away."

"Yeah, yeah. You should go." I got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. See you later?"

He eyed me for a while like he was in some kind of trance and finally he was back to our world. "Yes! Absolutely." And he almost ran out of my house.

Since it was Saturday, I grabbed my dogs and went for a run around the town like I normally do when the weather is good. I put my headphones on and put on some music, starting with Turning Page, Sleeping at Last. The most beautiful melody that I had to stop because I was thinking about nothing else than the night with Harry, waking up by his side and how it felt.

It felt wrong to think about him this way. Probably was the hormones talking, but he feels different to me. I look at him more like a man and not as the kind kid he was when I met him. He was ambitious now, he was a fighter and he was the most beautiful man I've ever seen.

And no matter how many musics I stopped, he didn't leave my mind that day.

After finishing the book I was reading, after lunch, I picked up my phone that was ringing and in the caller ID was "Prince Harry". He sounded too excited, his breathing heavy as if he was running.

"Harry, calm down. What's going on?"

"Are you home"? He asked. "Where are you?"

"In the backyard. What's happening?" I was actually getting worried with him and he hung up the phone. "What the hell?" 

Then I heard footsteps inside my kitchen and the back door finally opened, exposing a panting Harry, leaned with his hands against his knees catching his breath.

"They..." He tried to talk. "Nicole Scherzinger e Simon Cowell called me. They want me to try again. With some other guys. They want us to form a band. I'll meet him today!"

I jumped out of my bench and to his lap, hugging him tightly with the happiness I was feeling, plating lots of kisses on his cheeks making him laugh out loud and hug me tight.

"I'm so happy for you, Harry. I wish you good luck". I felt kind incomplete when he put me down and pulled away as if he was leaving.

"I'm here to tell you this. You're the only person that knows, but I have to go now. There's a car waiting outside to take me to them."

"What? And you came here first? Couldn't tell me just on the phone?" I asked, following him to the front yard. 

"How could I? Something like this should be commemorated with you." He kissed my cheek and ran to the car. I didn't have much interactions with him for the next weeks, while he had rehearsals and meetings with important people. It was a great opportunity for him and I couldn't be happier. I just wish that he fulfills his dreams without losing the kind heart he has.

His band, called One Direction, entered X-Factor in the "Group" category.

The whole thing went by really fast. I was a religious follower of the show, always cheering up for him and when they were chosen to be finalists, I cried so hard talking with him on the phone.

The next day, when someone knocked on my door, I opened it to a smiling Harry, holding a bunch of beautiful flowers, red roses and white tulips, which he held in the air for me.

"You're the one that should receive these kinds of things, rockstar." I hugged him and grabbed the flowers in one hand, holding the other with his, fingers intertwined.

"You're the one that encouraged me to follow my dreams." He smiled and my stomach twisted.  _Damn, what the hell is wrong with me?_ "I want you to be there. For me." He handed me a ticket. "I want you to be there for me, every time I go up on a stage."

"Harry..." I whispered, lost in words with his request.

After that, he introduced me to his new bandmates and they rehearsed so hard to the final show, they were restless, trying everything they could imagine, new sounds and new songs. And every time he went on stage, rehearsing the presentation, he never took his eyes off me, eyes shining at me.

Hours before the show he was nervous. He was anxious. And he couldn't stop walking inside the backstage. It was time for me to take my seat in the crowd, but before that, I approached Harry, cupped his cheeks, forcing him to stop and look at me.

"Harry. No matter what happens in the end, you already won by being here. And you already won my heart. You're a talented man and you have a promising future ahead. No matter what happens, never give up on your dreams. Never. Do that for me, yeah?" He smiled and nodded. 

So I pressed a long kiss on his cheeks, slowly closing my eyes as I felt his skin on my lips. Harry stopped trembling as he was before and smiled, pulling away from the kiss just enough for our eyes to meet and our noses touch each other from the side. I felt my body tensing up, with this closeness, something that I don't understand why has so much effect on me. My heartbeat was increasing really fast - my watch beeped one time, but I didn't even flinch away. The moment was so heavy that my breathing was uneven and my heart was racing, I could swear Harry was leaning in to kiss me on my lips when the rest of the group was heard playing around with each other and calling out for Harry's'.

We both sighed in disappointment, faces flushed and we pulled away from each other.

"I should go," I said smiling, still trying to catch my breath.

"Yeah, me too," Harry said, walking away after winking at me.

Trying to handle all the emotions I was feeling, I walked to my seat, right in front of the stage, where I could see the juries, including Simone and Nicole. She looked so much prettier live,  _what a woman!_

And soon after the show began, all the tension was left apart and all of the people in the room had a time of their lives. When the final decision was made known, One Direction was given third place. It was a hard contest, Rebecca Ferguson and Matt Cardle were great too, so the guys weren't too sad after the show.

I went with them to an after party for a while, to commemorate their third place. They were so happy with the outcome, they were happy to find each other, and I was watching Harry from afar, with a smile on my face when his eyes finally met mine.

He approached me between the crowd, grabbed me by my waist, grabbed my hand and started dancing.

"What are you doing?" I asked grinning.

"What does it looks like? Dancing." Harry stated all matter-of-factly. But the rest of the dance he didn't say anything. He leaned his chin against my cheek, closed his eyes and swayed slowly at the sound of the slow music. We danced maybe for an hour before I pull away and tell him I was going home.

"Do you really have to go now?" He asked me with puppy eyes, pulling me to a hug.

"Yes, I do," I answered, trying not to give in. "Maybe we can schedule something quieter together this week?"

"Of course. Just text me when you're free." I said my goodbyes to the rest of the group and Harry escorted to the exit, frequently asking me if I really wanted to go away. I had second thoughts every time I looked him in the eyes but I shook those feelings away and went home.

The next day I received a strange phone call from Harry, inviting me to have dinner with him that night. So, around 8 P.M. he picked me up from home and took me to an Italian Restaurant, located in the mountains above the city. He was quiet all the way up there until we sat on the table and ordered some food.

"I have something to tell you. News." He made a dramatic silence with a serious facial expression, but soon after it disappeared, giving way to a wide smile on his lips and his eyes shining at me. "We got a call from the Syco. They have a contract for us to make an album with them!"

"WOW, already? That's just perfect!" I grabbed his hands above the table. "I can't tell you how proud I am for you, honestly."

"Thank you. This is just amazing. It's everything I've ever dreamt about." 

I couldn't but smile the rest of the dinner, while Harry told me about his adventures with his new bandmates. They would record the album, but it would be released in the next year, so I'll have to wait like everyone else.

So, as you can imagine, Harry was even more absent in the next months. He made sure to call me every now and then, text me whenever he was nervous about something and he even called me at night before going to sleep to tell me all about his day. He had to move to LA to record the album and promote it, so I saw him very rarely. But whenever he was back home he would spend all his time with me, playing some new ideas for songs.

One of those nights he called me at 5 P.M. 

Groaning in annoyance I picked up the phone and tried to sound soft, even though I was pissed off for being awake like that.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but I couldn't wait to share this with you. Guess who's going on tour with the X-Factor members?" He asked with excitement on his voice. "I'll be back sooner before going on tour. And when we finish our new album, there will be a personal party that I insisted to be on Cheshire. This way you'll be there with me."

"That's amazing, Harry," I whispered, voice still sleepy. "When will you come back?"

"Next week." He said and then he remained silent as if he was thinking about something. Then, he sighed and whispered. "I miss you... Being away from home it's one thing, but being away from you it's... it's different. I have never been away from you since we met. Since I helped you out with those annoying brats. Since you became my best friend. I miss you more than I thought I would. I don't know why."

I gulped, that information hitting me right in the chest. My heart was beating really fast and I thought my watch would beep any moment, but I calmed myself down and answered him.

"I feel the same way. It's harder than I thought. You come back home safe, ok?"

"Promise. I'm sorry to wake you up, I'll let you sleep now." He was ready to hang up the phone, but I stopped him.

"It's ok, it's ok. Talk to me, Harry. Tell me things about LA. Have you met any more celebrities?"

"You have no idea." He joked before telling me everything that's been happening for the past few days. I'm always curious about that new world and I know Harry loves to share those things with me. So I'm the best listener in the world whenever he's talking.

And, as promised, after a few days he was back home.

He arrived late Friday night and I was already in bed when I heard a knock on my window. And there he was: smiling widely. As soon as I open the window he threw himself at me, hugging me and kissing my face, my head, all over, while he was pushing me slowly against my bed. We both fall on top of it laughing. 

We were now laying on the mattress, looking to the ceiling. We often do that, watching the stars stickers that glow in the dark as we dive into deep conversations or contemplate something.

He talked about how the tour will be, how long he'll be away and the date of the release of their first album. It was sooner than I thought and I couldn't wait to hear it.

As we were chattering through the night, he connected his hand with mine, intertwining our fingers and we talked like that until morning.

After that, Harry disappeared again, going on tour and finishing up their new album. 

One morning, when I woke up, there was mail for me with no sender. I opened the padded envelope and there was a paper, with Harry's' handwriting on it  _Don't let anyone hear it. It's from me to you. Hope you like it. Call me when you listen to it._ And inside there was their new album:  _Up all night_  with the songs  _What Makes You Beautiful, Gotta Be You, One Thing, and Than This._

I put the CD on the PC, put my headphones on and heard the full album, thrice. Then I called Harry.

"It's amazing! I loved it!!" I almost yelled on the phone. Harry started laughing asking me questions about the songs one by one. 

"And we're going on tour to promote the new album." He said. Somehow, I felt sad when he talked about the tour. That meant he was going to be away again and I'll be without him, again. "Next Friday night there's a party. The album will be released that day..." He now started speaking with a lower voice, a weak tone that came from deep inside his soul. "And I really, really, want you to be there, with me. As my companion."

"I'll be there, let me know how, when and where. I'll always be there."

"Promise?" He whispered.

"I promise." 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Not knowing exactly what to wear for the party, I picked up a red simple red dress, two thin straps and round skirt that fell perfectly on the curves of my waist. I curled my hair in a simple way and put on some light makeup, with thin cat eyeliner. 

Harry was supposed to pick me up at 8 P.M. and I couldn't stop looking at the clock. Something about this party was making my heart pound. He wanted me was his companion, but it wasn't the first time he invited me to parties. We even went to prom together. What can I say? We're best friends since kids, why would that change? 

I didn't know the answer. But it was changing.

And when I opened the door, Harry was there, eyes scanning me up and down and a smile forming on his lips.

"Wow. You look absolutely amazing." He kissed me on my cheeks and held his arm for me to grab. "Shall we, my princess?"

Without thinking twice, I grabbed his arm and we left for a half hour car trip until we reached a building, with a big poster of One Direction on the entry and lots of lights and people arriving in their luxurious cars.

"Did I dressed up well for this party?" I asked, worried and nervous about all the people that would be there.

"You're perfect." I looked at him. Harry looked like he was in some kind of trance, looking at me lost in his thoughts, but my eyes made him snap out of his world. "I mean, for the party."

There were reporters, taking pictures and screaming for an interview. Flashes were blurring my vision, as Harry guided me through the crowd until we reached for the entry. He didn't mind the reporters, but he wasn't thrilled about having them there. Their manager said it was important to promote their album, even though they were like vultures: always looking for a scandalous story to feed on.

He never left me alone once. Always introduced me to everyone as the most important people in his life and that without me, he wouldn't be there. My heart was melting, even more, I didn't know how long I would endure all that compliments without blush hard.

When the Album was released and was played by them, they rocked the party. They were like fire on stage. Their energy, their voices... They fit like a glove together and I could see their bright future.

"So, what do you think? Did you liked our show?" Harry asked me, after walking away from the stage in my direction, ignoring all the reporters.

"I loved it. I think you're finally a rockstar, Harry." I smiled at him. But it faded away as soon as some journalists approached us and started shouting questions at Harry about his "date". They tried to talk to me, but Harry placed himself in front of me, ordering the journalists to go away. But it was in vain. So he grabbed me by my hand and pulled me through the crowd, through a door, until we were inside a fitting room, away from the crowd. The music could still be heard, barely, but enough.

"I'm sorry." He said leaning against the door with his back. "They can be toxic."

"It's ok," I said. But it wasn't. I hate journalists and that only made me hate them more.

"I'm really sorry, Angel." He approached me with a worried look on his eyes, but since I formed a smile at him, reassuring it was ok, he smiled back and his hands grabbed me by my waist, as he started moving to the sound of the music.

"Uh... What are you doing?"

"What does it seem I am doing?" He asked, smirking, as he leaned his forehead against the top of my head. 

"Won't they notice our absence?" 

"I don't care." He replied, eyes closed as he felt my perfume entering his nose and twisting his stomach. Somehow he needed to look me in the eyes one more time, to look at the girl he knew all his life, that was by his side no matter what. He needed to look at the one that helped him to chase after his dreams. The one that has become too special. "I only want to be with you." Words escaped his mouth as he was now looking me in the eyes. And even though he didn't think before speaking, he meant it. 

I parted my lips, astonished with these words, astonished with the love on his eyes, and with the gentle way he was now caressing my face. Our bodies stopped moving at the sound of the song. His hands cupped my face, pulling a fallen strand of hair behind my year and stroking my cheeks gently. His touch left a trail of burn and I closed my eyes at the sensation. But something else happened. I felt his lips touch mine very gently as if he wanted to test me. But since I didn't move or flinch he connected them entirely, pulling me closer with his hands tangled with my hair. I opened my mouth, allowing his tongue to enter and caress mine.

I tried to move it gently, aching to feel his taste. This was my first real kiss. And it was amazing.

Without knowing why I was feeling that way, my heart was racing, thoughts spinning in my head and my body was trembling. 

As he pulled me even closer to his body, to feel every curve of my petite body, we pulled away abruptly from each other when we heard a knock on the door. Faces redden, lips wet and hairs all messed up, we were staring at each other, eyes widened with the realization of what just happened.

His manager opened the door.

"What are you kids doing here? People are asking for you two." He said, leaving the door open.

"We should go," I said, already leaving the room.

"Angel!" Harry called, but I was mixed with the crowd.

I stayed a little more, interacting with the rest of the band, trying to ignore Harry's' gaze. He was confused as I was, both of us not knowing what just happened nor what to do with it. Trying not to be left alone with him, I was always talking to people.

And when I decided to go home I said it out loud to the rest of the band.

"Oh, come one. Stay. We'll have an after party." Zayn said.

"I can't stay, guys. I really need to go." I looked at Harry's' worried eyes.

I turned around to leave but Harry grabbed my arm. The rest of the band sensed something was going on, so they drifted away from us. 

"Wait. I'll take you home." He said.

"No. I already called a cab." I said turning around to leave. He grabbed me once again, pulling me back to him.

"Don't go like that, please. We need to talk about what happened."

I smiled nervously, trying not to show too many emotions to everyone around us.

"Harry. This is no time or place to have this conversation. This is your world. Your party. Enjoy it." He let go of my arm and smiled. "We'll talk about this later."

"Really?" He asked, hope shining through his eyes.

"Really." I lied and finally left, watching through the cab' window as the party building disappeared in front of my eyes.

That night I didn't sleep at all. The kiss repeating on my head over and over again. I tried to understand why it happened, and especially why I was feeling the way I did. It's Harry, for Christ' sake!!! My best friend. My brother!

Lately, I was looking at him in a different way. I thought I was the only one feeling that way. But now I know I'm not.

Next day when I woke up, I decided to get up, eat breakfast and go for a run around the block. It would be a way to clear my head and I got dressed in my pink and white leggings, a white sports bra and a white tank top. Put my headphones on and went to the kitchen.

Leaning against the kitchen while I was blending a smoothie, I peered over the window to the street when I noticed a figure walking towards my door.

Harry.

He was walking with his head down, slowly approaching my hose, with his hands on his pockets, lost in his own thoughts. His face was serious, his lips pressed thin and his brows were furrowed.

He knocked on the door.

I didn't move.

He rang the bell.

I didn't move.

And once he got enough of waiting he slowly started walking away from the door, often looking down in hope that someone opens the door. But there was no one in the house, so he thought.

I let myself down against the furniture, sitting on the kitchen floor with my head buried in my hands. Even if he did feel something for me, as I was feeling for him, I shouldn't go after him. He has a future ahead, his dreams were coming true. I would just fuck things up for him if I didn't end this.

So, I decided to talk to him and end that kind of feelings.

Leaving my house, I carried on with my day, going for my usual run to keep my heart healthy. Doctors were very confident about my health, but they say that eventually, I'll need a transplant. I was already on a waiting list but they asked me to keep my healthy lifestyle.

I ran for half an hour when I met Harry's' mom, Anne, driving her car. She stopped and opened her window.

"Hi, Anne," I said.

"Hi, Angel. How are you? You look so beautiful, so grown up." She said warmly.

"Well, I can't stay a kid forever, can I?"

"Of course not!" She laughed. "I usually forgot how you grow up. How my Harry is growing up so fast. He's becoming a great man that I'm proud of." She cleaned her tears of joy away. "I'm going to miss him. He's going on tour today. Of course, he's been on tour before, but nine months? It's too much for his mother's' fragile heart."

"He's going today?" I asked worriedly, cursing myself for not open the door before.

"Yes, honey. He didn't tell you?" She eyed me. "He must be home right now, packing up his things. He'll leave after lunch."

"Thank you, Miss Anne. I'll talk to him."

Then, I ran as fast as I could back home to take a shower, get dressed and left my house immediately to Harry's'. I didn't know what to say, nor what to do, but I had to see him and talk to him. I couldn't let him go like that.

When I rang his house's' bell, it took him a while to come to the door. And when he opened it he froze and a nervous smile formed on his face.

"Angel!" He said, stepping out of the way to allow me in.

"Hey... I just saw your mom. She said you're going on tour today?"

He looked like he was taken by surprise. Without looking me in the eyes, he went upstairs to continue packing up. There were suitcases all over his bedroom floor, and clothes spread.

"You told me you would go on tour, but today? So early?" I continued speaking behind him. He sighed and stopped making his bag.

"It's been complicated. Between rehearsals, the album promotion, planning the tour. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But you just ran away from the party without talking to me. And today you pretended you weren't home when I knocked on your door, so I guessed you didn't want to see me." He said with a bitter tone on his voice. I was surprised with his words and my mouth remained shut, staring at his back, while he still didn't look me in the eyes. And since no sound came out of my mouth, he looked back at me with tears falling down his eyes.

"What was I suppose to do? Harry, we kissed." I widened my eyes at the thought. "WE kissed." It seemed too much to be true.

"Yes, I am aware of that, I was there too." He said smiling and somehow I relaxed, smiling back at him. "And I've been battling with myself to know why it happened, but I don't know. All I know... " He approached me slowly until he was almost glued to me breathing heavy while our noses touched. "Is what I felt that moment. Something I never felt before. And it was good. So good, Angel..."

And he pressed his lips against mine once again. This time I took the lead and pulled him against me, hand behind his head pressing his lips even more to mine.

Catching our breaths, we stopped to look at each other. His green eyes were shining with happiness, aching for my touch and I couldn't help it. I kissed him again, harder and more intensively. His hands wandered my back, slowly trying to pull my top up, while we walked to his bed. He turned our bodies around and made me fall on the bed gently, as he lay on top of me. His hand traveled under my top, caressing my waist, my belly and going up to my breasts. I never did anything like this before, never been with any guy and I would never think it would happen with Harry.

We got too carried away, two kids, underage, giving in to this passion between us. But something snapped me out of that trance and I stopped asking him to do the same.

He looked at me with his breathing uneven and confused eyes.

"Harry...  Don't take me wrong. But we can't do this." He got away from my body, to sitting position on his bed. "We're too young. And you are going after your dreams now. You don't have time to do this. You need to concentrate on your job now."

"But this -- thing between us, it's twisting my head." He honestly said.

"You're not the only one. But I'm saying this for your own good. As much as it feels good to be with you... I can't do this to you. Not now. Maybe in a few years, but not now that you're starting something."

"You're saying that there's a chance for us?" Harry asked with a hopeful tone.

"When we're older and wiser. And if you don't forget about me, now that you're a famous rockstar."

"Aw, how could I forget my princess?" He asked pulling to me to a hug.

"I'm serious." I pouted. "You'll have loads of girls screaming your name, killing to be with you. Lots of them are supermodels. I bet on that."

"That's nice." He said with a devilish smirk on his lips. "But what if I tell you, you're the only girl I want to be with?"

My body melted instantly and I could only smile at him.

"I would say you're crazy."

And like that, Harry was gone on tour, and I was left alone in our hometown, back to the same old life: waking up every morning, eating breakfast, going to classes, have lunch, more classes, babysit, have dinner and then wait patiently by the phone to hear news from Harry. 

He called me almost every day telling me everything about the tour, about the countries he has met. I read more articles on the internet about their tour and I couldn't help but smile when I saw pictures of him, singing on stage, shining like the star he is.

"Wow, already?" I asked astonished when he came back from the tour and told me there was another album coming out. They didn't intend to stop nor slow down. They had already scheduled the new album release, new tour and all kind of promotion needed.

"What can I say? We have good inspirations." He said while he pressed a kiss on my lips. 

Ever since he came back from his tour, the first thing he did was to burst into my room and press his lips against mine to "show me he never forgets about me". We didn't have any kind of relationship of any nature, we didn't even tell anyone about whatever this is, but we were ok with it. I guess.

And for the next years, everything repeated itself. One Direction released an album, promoted it, go on tour and then come back, to a few weeks of vacation before going back to the same rush. But my feeling for Harry wasn't the same. They only grew up. Everything he was away I felt miserable, without knowing what to do. And whenever I knew he was about to come home, I was too excited and it could be seen from miles of distance.

Harry was becoming an adult man. And I was now deciding what my professional career would be. I always loved animals so my decision wasn't hard. I went to a veterinary school and studied until I had the opportunity to open my own clinic. As always, Harry was the most supportive person I've ever met and I couldn't do it without him.

"There's something I need to tell you about." He said one time when he came back from his last tour and he was caressing my hair, while we were sitting on my balcony watching the stars.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at him.

"The guys and I have been talking... About everything, our dreams, ambitions and... well, we will stop for a while now to focus on our solo careers." I widened my eyes, that meant One Direction would split up? "Hey, nothing happened. We've been talking about this since the very beginning. We just thought that now that we're adult we could pursue those dreams alone. What do you think?"

"I... Harry... I'm sad for One Direction, but that makes me happy. For you. It's an opportunity."

"Yes, yes... It is, but..." He lowered his gaze but I made him look at me. Once his eyes met mine he melted.  "What if it's a fiasco? What if I don't succeed?"

"What? This is not the Harry I know." I said, getting to a sitting position.

"I know. It' just... I was too young when this all started, I didn't know how it could be. I'm just tired from all of this. And there's something else I need to ask you." He waited for me to nod and he proceeded. "I decided to take a break. Go to a spiritual retreat in Portugal. Away from everything. And I was thinking if you could go with me since you're almost on vacations."

"To Portugal? You and I alone?"

"Yes. Why, is something wrong with that?" He asked me with sincerity on his voice. "I just... want to be away, but not from you. You're important. You're my best friend." And somehow those words were like daggers to me. "Best Friend." That's the only way he saw me or was I more than that? I must have been in trance for a while because Harry was now poking me with his elbow to make sure I was listening to him. "So, what do you think?"

"Uh... I don't know Harry..." 

"Look, you said you want me to go after my dreams, right? I need your help with that. There's something blocking my mind. I don't know, maybe I'm just tired. And to do this, I need your help. Besides, your birthday is coming soon, this is my birthday gift. Vacations in Portugal."

"Do you think we should go alone?" I asked, afraid of what could happen.

"I won't bite you." He smirked. "You told me what you felt. You told me you don't want to interfere with my career. I respect that, but I need your help. As a friend."

He made his puppy eyes at me, knowing that I would always give in when he does that. "Alright, alright. I'll go."

He grabbed me from the floor and kissed all over my face with a smile on his lips, making me laugh out loud.

"When are you expecting to go?" I asked.

"Next weekend and I already got your ticket." He smirked and left my house, leaving me with a hot fire inside my heart, asking to be released.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry chose a small town in the north of Portugal, near the Atlantic Ocean. He booked a small apartment called New York Fiction with a view over the city and the coast, allowing the sun to warm up the place from morning to night.

The apartment had a huge garden, filled with trees, flowers, small lakes here and there and a swimming pool. The sunrays burning slightly my skin, the smell of roses in the air and the warm summer breeze made me go to the most pacific state I've ever been. I was diving in my book while Harry was swimming in the pool for half an hour.

We've been here for three days already and he still didn't have any inspiration for his new album. We tried all kinds of relaxation methods but nothing worked for him.

"If I don't come out with an idea, I'm screwed." He confessed while we were having dinner.

"Relax, Harry. You're putting too much pressure on yourself. You'll never gonna make it if you keep thinking that way. Enjoy your vacations."

"Maybe you're right." Harry relaxed in his chair and we asked for dessert. "So, what do you want to do next?"

"Well, I was planning on going back to my room." 

"What? Are you crazy?" He spoke almost too loud. "It's your birthday in..." He looked at his wristwatch. "two hours and you want to go to sleep?"

"You know I don't celebrate it that much."

"I don't care. At least... watch a movie with me, or - I don't know - be with me until midnight. Come on, you told me to enjoy my vacations."

I rolled my eyes at him but ended accepting his proposition and before I knew it we were cuddling on the sofa on the common area of our cozy apartment. He looked for some romantic comedy while I made popcorns and when the movie was ready, I grabbed some beers and sat by his side. He immediately put an arm around me and pulled to his hug.

By the end of the movie we were laughing about how those clichés movies always end with the happiest song, that has nothing to do with the movie, but it gives the idea that we had fun.

"In the end, there's always a guy declaring his love for the girl he been neglecting the whole movie and she ends up crying or jumping to his lap, laughing while their kissing. Uh, boring." I confessed.

"Yeah yeah, you say boring, but all you girls want it to happen to you someday." He said and I laughed at him.

"Well, no me at least." I rolled my eyes at him and threw him a pillow. "I want a man that shows how much he loves me every day, with no fear of saying it out loud. You men have the hardest time saying what really goes inside your heart."

"No, we're not!"

"Yes, you do." I protested back. "Well, tell me what do you feel about me then." When I acknowledged what I was saying was too late, Harry froze in his seat, staring at me with the most lost look I've ever seen. I could feel my cheeks redden and my heart racing, so I just tried to ease up the moment by laughing. "See? A simple question and you're already trembling."

Harry groaned - oh my God, the sexiest groan you can imagine - and threw his body on top of mine, making me lay with my back on the sofa. He positioned himself between my legs, his waist hard against mine and his hands had mine pinned above my head. I wasn't expecting this reaction - not at all - and I could only stare at him, uncertain of what to do.

"You want me to tell you what I really feel about you?" He pressed his body harder against mine and oddly I felt something wet between my legs. Fuck, what is he doing to me? It's Harry, for Christ' sake!!! "Do you think I have problems telling you how much you mean to me?"

I gulped. Fuck. 

"Yes." I could only whisper.

And Harry's' eyes darken a bit, his dark pupil hiding his shiny green orbs but his expression melted from a wild animal to a lovely smile. He opened his mouth to speak but got interrupted by the church clock, striking midnight.

"Harry birthday, Angel." He said with a wide smile on his lips, without moving his body from mine. And before I could answer he pressed his lips against mine with such intensity that my body quivered under him.

He left the hands pinned above my head and let his hands wander the curves of my body, as his body moved against mine in the most gentle way. I allowed my hands to travel his head, intertwined with his hair pulling him closer to me. The other hand wandered his back, massaging his torso, as I tried to lift his shirt to feel his skin once again.

Ever since we got carried away years ago, I've been dreaming about being with him almost every night. We were just kids when we touched each other like this but I stopped in time. But now, I had enough. I needed to have him.

I crossed my legs behind his ass, pulling his waist against my core. When he felt that, he moaned in my mouth - fuck, I melted - and started rubbing wilder against me. Suddenly something hard started growing between his legs and my panties were soaking wet by now.

His hands traveled along my body' curves, until he reached for my outer tight, stroking the edged of my summer dress and pulling it up, up, up... until he broke the kiss and took it off.

Harry pulled away to look at my body. I was wearing yellow lace panties with white stripes with a matching bra. My body was already tanned by the warm sun of Portugal and my skin softened by the natural exfoliator - the thin sand of the beaches.

"You're... beautiful." His eyes traveled my body in amazement and I smiled shyly.

"Take off your shirt," I ordered and without taking his eyes off me, he did as commanded.

When his white shirt fell on the floor, my eyes widened as I examined his muscles. He is perfect in every way and if there's a God, it's him.

I pulled him back to me quickly, as I was already missing his lips on mine. He continued rubbing his hard shaft between my legs and I wanted to release it. So I let my hands travel to the edge of his pants and tried to unbutton it. 

One of his hands found its way to my breast and squeezed it gently as his mouth left my mouth and planted a trail of kisses, down my neck, and to my breast. He kissed my breast and sucked on the exposed skin. The other hand was no less cheeky: he unclipped my bra easily and I gasped.

When he took my bra off he didn't wait any longer, he put it all in his mouth, sucking and biting the nipple. By this time, I already had his pants unbuttoned, on the floor, only feeling his thin grey boxers between our skins.

"Harry..." I moaned his name, feeling his tongue playing with my nipples. I felt him smiling and groaning with the breast on his mouth and he intensified what he was doing. And once again I let his name escape my mouth.

"I love the way you moan my name." He confessed, looking at me in the eyes with deep desire burning his aura. Before I knew it, he had his lips pressed against mine and his hands were going down to my panties. He wasn't feeling shy, as he let his hand go under the panties to feel my wet folds.

As soon as he felt the soft skin of my lips, soaked wet with pleasure he moaned and leaned his forehead against mine, biting his lips.

"This is all because of me?" He whispered.

"Yes," I answered. "I can't control it anymore."

"This happened before?" Harry asked, making sure I was looking at me in the eyes while he rubbed my clit gently. I could only nod while I gasped with pleasure. "Because of me?" And I nodded again. He didn't talk to me anymore, he just gasped a barely audible fuck.

When he couldn't take it anymore, he pulled away, pulled my panties off my body, dropping them on the floor and got up, hands on his hips, grabbing the edge of his boxers as he slowly started to pull them down. 

The moment was coldly interrupted by the phone that rang and went straight to voice mail. A woman's' voice could be heard and she was clearly sobbing. 

"Harry... I'm sorry if I wake you up. I know it's late where you are. Your friends told me you went to Portugal on vacations. I know it's been a while and that you probably don't want to hear me, but I miss you... God, I miss you so much. I miss our good times, our adventures. I promise you, it wasn't pretending for me. I... love you. Please give me a call, Harry. I miss you."

I froze, eyes widened looking at him. Suddenly I felt exposed, vulnerable and betrayed. 

"This is not what you're thinking." He said trying to calm me down. I didn't say anything, just pulled the pillows to my body, covering my nudity. "Please, let me explain. She's a girl I met years ago. She was on the music business and she approached me telling me I had great talent and that she wanted to help me. She became a close friend. And along the way, I started feeling something for her. It was nothing, nothing compared with what I feel for you. Believe me."

"And what do you feel for me exactly?" I asked, taking Harry by surprise. He sat on the couch next to me and I backed off. He sighed, no words coming out of his mouth. "Did you date her?"

"I guess. We went out a couple of times."

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" I asked, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. I didn't know why I was acting that way. It was not like we had a romantic and exclusive relationship, but somehow I felt betrayed by my best friend.

"I don't know... It was a confused phase in my life ok?" He whispered, his voice too weak. "I have nothing to do with her anymore. Nothing. And I don't want to see her ever again. She was an undercover journalist, she was selling personal information about me. And when I found out, I made sure I erased her from my life. It's been years and I have no idea why she remembered about me, especially today."

"Especially today? What does that mean?" 

"Well, I told her about you. About our friendship. I also told her that... we had a strange phase a few years back when we kissed the first time. And she was jealous... or pretending to be jealous -- uh, fuck." He rubbed his face with his hands, pulling his hair back. "If the guys told her I was here, they must have told her you were with me. And she decided to screw things up because she knows your birthday it's on 1st August."

"That's crazy, you know that?" I said honestly. 

"I know. Believe me. And you have no idea the lies she told me to get me to believe she was actually a music producer when in fact she was just trying to get a story to sell."

I looked down my clothes spread along the floor because anything was better than looking at Harry. Millions of thoughts were spinning inside my head and I couldn't find the words to speak to him. Harry waited for something to come out of my mouth, but he got nothing.

"Please. Talk to me, Angel."

"I-- 'm sorry. I need to sleep." I said but didn't move because I just realized I was completely naked under the pillows. Somehow Harry read my mind and got up from the couch, disappearing to his bedroom and returning with a robe that he put on my back. "Thank you," I whispered, tying up the knot to cover my exposed body.

"Please don't go without saying something to me. I... It was stupid of me to even think I had feelings for her and even more stupid not to tell you about it. But please, believe me when I tell you that she means nothing to me."

"I have nothing to do with what you're with or not. But how do you want me to believe you when you don't even know what are your feelings towards me?"

I got up from the couch, ready to end the conversation and get some sleep when he grabbed me by my wrists and pulled me to him, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

"How do you want me to tell you something I don't know???" I almost yelled. "I've been battling my own mind to figure it out. I don't know what this is! You're my best friend, Angel. I'm not supposed to have these feelings towards you, let alone know what they are."

"Well, you should figure it out soon. I won't wait for you forever."

He opened his mouth and let go of my wrists, muffling a laugh. "Well, don't tell me you know what you feel about me."

"For your information, Harry, yes. I do know what I feel about you. You know me better than anyone to know that I would never let anyone near me unless I know what my heart wants." I let the information sink in and then proceeded. "You know exactly what I feel about you. But I won't say it until you figure out what's going inside your heart."

I turned around and left him alone in the living room, frozen in place with his heart racing at the speed of light.

My heart twitched at the thought of leaving this discussion like that, so before closing my bedroom' door I looked at him in the eyes and spoke. "Either way, you'll always be my best friend and you can always count on me, but don't expect me to love you forever if you don't even know what I am to you."


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of our vacations was weird. I tried to forget what happened and enjoy our time together, but I could feel the burning tension between Harry and me. 

The next morning I woke up and took a long shower and when I met him at the bar to get breakfast he already ordered food and was waiting for me with a flower and a box on the table.

"Good morning," I said, forcing a smile on my lips.

"Hey, good morning." I snapped him out of his trance. He had his eyes locked on the window, scanning the view over the city and the sea in the horizon. "This is for you."

I smiled at the beautiful white tulip he handed me and opened the small box. Inside was the most beautiful necklace I've ever seen, silver thread with a small white stone heart as a pendant. Harry waited expectantly by my reaction and when my eyes lift to his, he smiled seeing my happy face.

"It's beautiful, Harry. Thank you." 

He got up from his chair, took the necklace from my hands and put it on my neck, locking it under my hair. Then he got back to his chair and looked at it intensively.

"Yes. But not as beautiful as you." I could feel my face burn, if there was a mirror there I surely would see my reddening cheeks. "I'm sorry." He said, looking down to his plate.

I placed my hand on his and made him look back at me. 

"It's ok. Let's just forget what happened and enjoy our vacations, shall we?"

And we tried. We really tried. There were lots of funny activities that we made like water ski, go to the local zoo, eat all the food we wanted, but there was something between us that remained unsolved. The night before going back to our hometown something else happened.

We were eating ice cream in the balcony of our apartment, scanning the sky for meteorites when he couldn't help but speak about what happened. We were leaning against the balcony, watching the stars when the sky was illuminated by a flaming rock that disappeared almost immediately.

"Make a wish, Harry," I said.

"All I wish is have you next to me. I don't need anything else." Harry said, not daring to look at me. His eyes were locked on the view battling to not look at me. 

"You'll always have me by your side, Harry, as you always had," I said looking at him.

He sighed, disappointed with my answer and moved back to the apartment, putting the ice cream down on the kitchen table. Without saying a word he entered his bedroom, closed the door and suddenly there was silence. He left me alone in the balcony, not knowing what I did wrong.

I got inside the apartment, rushing to his door but when I was about to knock on it, my head stopped me and I stayed there, watching the closed door, thinking if I should enter or not. Our friendship is getting ruined because of this, I couldn't let it get worse, so I turned around and went to my bedroom.

But what I thought would be a good night of sleep, turned out to be hell. I couldn't stop thinking about him, about my feelings for him and my stomach twisted inside just with the thoughts of losing him. 

The next day we went home, quiet and barely looking at each other, let alone talk. Even when we landed at the London airport and called a cab, we didn't say a word. It was getting too hard to handle and as soon as the driver parked outside my house I stormed out of the car and ran home, not looking back even with Harry calling my name.

For days I didn't reply to his messages, nor opened the door for him.

And one morning, when I was having breakfast before work, my mother sat on the table by my side with a worried look on her face.

"Honey, Harry is trying to talk to you for days now. Did something happen between you two?"

"I rather not talk about it," I said gulping.

"Ok, I don't need to know. But I think you should know that he had a producer that invited him  to record a new album with him and he left to California to do it."

"Left? What do you mean left?"

"He's already there, honey. He left yesterday night."

I let her information sink in.  _How could I be so selfish? He probably wanted to share the news with me and I ignored him_. At least he was going after his dreams and I wasn't the one to hold him back. All he ever wanted is a step closer and I just want him to be happy, doing what he does best.

So I tried to move on with my life, trying not to think about him. I was failing miserably.

I missed him every day. I wrote to him messages that I never had the courage to send And day after day, they just accumulated in my draft section. I would read them one by one, crying for not having the courage to send them. And when I finally did send him a message was the first time my heart betrayed me. 

My wristwatch started beeping nonstop and I tried to calm down. Took a camomille tea, some incense in my room and meditated, but the watch just didn't stop. 

"You'll need surgery sooner than we expected." My doctor said looking at the results in the paper. I made lots of examinations, tests and every kind of procedure to see what was going on. And the doctor didn't like it at all. "I'll talk with a few people and see if there's something that could be done for you. We need to get you a new heart, quickly.

My mother tightened the grip on my hand, making me feel the pain and fear she was feeling that moment.

I considered writing about it to Harry. But when I thought twice about it, I ended up deleting the message. He would be worried and he would leave his job. I know him too well.

After a week, my heart betrayed me once again, after I picked up a magazine from the kiosk and opened the page that talked about Harry. There was a recent picture of him, taken by a paparazzi when he was having dinner in a restaurant with a beautiful blond girl. Apparently, according to the journalist, she is Taylor Swift, trying to get a new boyfriend. They talked so many shits about them, about Harry's' previous life and even about his best friend - me - that he left behind in England.

The magazine fell on the floor as my wrist beeped so loud.

And the doctors wanted me to stay in the hospital until they could get me a heart. Stubborn as I am, I refused, of course, and asked to stay at home and wait for a phone call from them.

There was nothing they could do, besides allowing me to go home.

But as I sensed that at any moment I could go back to the hospital and don't get out, I decided to pack a bag with essentials. Just in Case. One of the most important things that I put inside the bag was my mp3, filled will all the music of One Direction and unpublished songs that they shared with me. Even Harry's' single songs.

I had it on the desk, right by the side of a picture of me and Harry, taken a few years back when everything was less confusing. Scanning the photo with tears on my eyes, I stared at the mirror at the necklace on my neck.  _Fuck, I miss him so much,_ I thought as my hand gently stroke the white heart.

My trance was interrupted when I hear the bell ringing. My mother wouldn't be home in the next hours, she had to make a double shift at the office for going with me to the doctor all these times.

As I go down the stairs I yelled to the door.

"Who is it?"

And after a few moments of silence, my heart skipped a beat and my knees fail on me.

"Harry."

_He's supposed to be on the other side of the planet. What the hell is he doing here?_

My hands were trembling uncontrollably as I reached the knob and opened the door to a panting Harry. He seemed like he came running. In that second look at him, I could see so many differences in him and just four weeks have passed since I last saw him. He had his heart cut short - a _ctually, he looked even more handsome_  - he was skinnier and had dark circles under his eyes. But one thing didn't change at all: his shiny green eyes staring at me.

"I can't do it without you." He didn't even let me speak, he was already entering my house, not daring to look away from me. He stepped closer and closer, making me step back. He closed the door behind him, without looking away and before I knew it he had his hands cupping my cheeks and his lips on mine. I didn't get away from his grip - I missed him so much that I gave in and threw my hands around his neck, pulling him closer.

After a long, wet and intense kiss, he pulled away and look me in the eyes.

"You were right before. I had to be sure what my heart wants. And I'm sure of it now. I love you, Angel. I always have. I just didn't know back then."

I really really tried to speak, but my mouth was closed in a thin line and my tearful eyes were widened, gazing deeply at him.

"I love you. So much. I see you everywhere I go. You're on my mind all the time, even when you shouldn't be. Even when I need to be focused. Seeing you running away from me as you did, without even looking back, made me realize that I don't want that anymore. I don't want to see you away. I want you happy, I want you with me. And fuck my career, fuck music. I would threw it all away to be with you because that's what I want. That's what I dream about at night."

"Don't say that... You always dreamt about music. Ever since I know you."

"So what? You don't hold me down, trust me. I wrote a whole fucking album about you and it will be released in a few days." I gasped, not knowing what to say about it. "You're my inspiration. You're the one I want to wake up every morning pulling a strand of my hair behind my ear and pretend to be asleep when I open my eyes. You're the one that I think about first thing in the morning and my last thought before going to sleep. You're the one, Angel."

"I love you, Harry,"  I said and he crushed his lips against mine once again, pinning me against the wall.

"I love you, Angel." He said between kisses.

Without thinking twice, I forced him up the stairs, in the direction of my room, occasionally being - once again - pinned against the wall, while his cheeky hands unbuttoned my shirt and threw it on the floor, along with my bra. He cupped one breast with one hand and sucked the nipple before throwing me to my bed.

Without giving me time to protest his wild behavior, he was already on top of me, biting and kissing my neck.

His hands traveled down my body, taking my pants and panties off, exposing my nudity to his mercy.

"Harry... Slow down." I asked, feeling my heart pounding inside my chest.

"I'm sorry. I-- I just need you, so much." Harry lay by my side, caressing my cheek and pressing his soft lips against mine.

"Please be gentle," I asked him. I and Harry never used to talk about other girls or boys during our long years of friendship. I had my crushed, sure, but when I realized that there was something else with Harry, my heart was locked to any other guy. And, subsequently, I have never been with anyone. Harry eyed my fearful expression and slowly realized why I was so afraid. "Yeah, I've never done this before."

As if he was snapped out of a wild trance his face illuminated, a wide smile appeared on his lips and he kissed me harder.

"I can stop if you want." He whispered. "I'll wait for you as long as you need."

"No," I replied and he looked at me confused. "I need you now, Harry." I was afraid that my heart didn't allow me to have this moment, but before I go to the hospital I want to have him, with all the I have to offer. With all my damaged heart.

His hands traveled along my body until he reached for my already wet folds. We moaned at the same time and he started playing with them, rubbing the wetness along my lips and clit. And after a while of teasing, he let one of his fingers penetrate me very slowly, allowing me to feel the burning sensation of his touch in my inner walls.

Slowly he made movements in and out, pleased with the moans I let escape, one of them being his name. His dick twitched at the whisper  _Harry_ and he couldn't wait anymore.

He needed to be inside me.

He needed to claim me as his.

So he took off all of his clothes and lay on top of me, rubbing his erection between my legs. I can't tell you how much that excited me, but as soon as he bites my neck, I moaned even louder.

Harry grabbed his dick with one hand and look me in the eyes when he was right at my entrance, ready to go all the way in. With his lovely and worried eyes, he glanced at me, waiting for any kind of displeasure. But since he saw nothing he said "I love you" and entered me slowly, stretching my walls in the process.

At first, it felt good. He only penetrated me to the point where I felt pleasure only, but then he forced himself inside me in an instant, making me feel like I was being stabbed. He was fully inside me, feeling my velvet involving his hard dick and he couldn't help but groan aloud.

The pain was almost too much to bare and I felt my heart racing. I tried to clear my mind out of the pain, but it was impossible. Harry was watching me through all the process and I could see him battling against the pleasure he was feeling for finally being inside of me, even though he was seeing the pain in my eyes.

He started moving slowly, in and out, repeatedly, and the pain started to ease after some minutes. It wasn't gone completely, but it allowed me to feel the delightful sensation of having Harry deeply inside me.

So I closed my eye and felt his hips slamming against mine, as his thrusts became harder and quicker.


	7. Chapter 7

Panting and hearts racing with excitement, we rested on the bed, side by side, naked, sweaty and bodies fully sated. We glanced at each other occasionally, trying to catch our breaths and astounded with what we just did.

After a while, Harry moved his arm and pulled me closer to his embrace, my head finally resting on his calm chest. He planted kisses on the top of my head and his hand caressed my hair, while I stroked gently his arm.

"That was amazing." I finally said, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Yes, it was. You were amazing." He said.

"Really?" I looked up at him.

"Really," he simply smiled and suddenly it felt like the whole world was lighter. "I promise you, next time will be less painful and you'll enjoy yourself."

"What are we going to do now, Harry?" Realization hit me hard, as thoughts of his job hovered the back of my mind, telling me he was going to go away after what we did. "What about your job?"

"Well, I have my album recorded and ready to be released, but I have a few more ideas I look to put in the music. If they want the album out, they'll have to work in the studio in London." He eyed me with an unreadable confused expression. "Don't you dare to think for a second that I'll leave you alone for too long. I'm not going anywhere unless you're with me."

I opened my mouth to protest, but he interrupted me by planting a kiss on my lips.

"One thing at a time. Ok?" Harry said with his characteristic sweet smile plastered across his face.

The best thing I did was not to protest. After leaving that bedroom - and coming back every time we had a chance to extinguish the fire in our bodies - Harry did his job by my side and I could see he was happier than ever. He felt like he was now complete: he achieved his dreams in music and had the woman he always wanted by his side.

He wasn't intending on leaving me any time soon.

Until there was a proposition of a tour. Something small, in a short period of time. But still,

 it meant that he would be away from me.

"Harry, I always asked you not to be held down for me," I told him one night when we were on each other arm, bodies sated with pleasure we had before. 

He showed up at my house without warning me, entered my room and walked from one side to the other, trembling and anxious. He told me about the proposition, not knowing what to do.

"But I don't want to leave you." He said with his hands pulling his hair back in despair.

"Hey! You won't leave me. You'll call me every time you can, you'll send pictures, we'll even face time, ok? You'll be back soon. It's only six months, baby. You can't give up on your dreams."

"You are my dream." He eyed me with tearful eyes. "This would never be possible if it wasn't for you. You insisted with me, you didn't let me give up on this. You always believe in my talent. I don't want to leave that behind."

"Oh, Harry. You won't." I grabbed his hands and made him look me in the eyes. "I'll be here for you when you come back."

"I'll be away and someone else could show up and --" He gulped and whispered, "steal you away from me."

I furrowed my eyes at his words. "Harry, I'm yours. There's no turning back."

Something snapped him out of that trance when he grabbed me and pinned me against my drawers, lifting up my skirt and pulling my panties to the side. Unbelting and unbuttoning his pants, he penetrated me with his already hard dick. He took me there, without saying anything else, making sure I knew who I belonged to.

And now, laying on the bed, I tried to convince him to go on tour. To live his dream because I'll be by his side every time he needed me. And somehow I managed to make him continue with his promising career, being there to support him all the way to stardom.

My career as a veterinary was better than ever and my ambitions for the future is to open my own veterinary hospital to take care of animals in need. I love my work and couldn't be happier with how my life was going.

Harry would call me every day, more than once some times, to tell me all about his adventures in the new countries he visited. One of those nights he called with a strange tone on his voice.

"Hey, princess..." He whispered. "How was your day?"

"Busy," I replied, already feeling the anxiety on his voice.

"There's something I need to tell you... Have you seen the news today? Or any magazine?"

"No, I don't think so," I replied. "Why?"

"There's a picture of us when we had dinner at Lorry's' restaurant last week. Some shitty paparazzi took it and sold it." 

"WHAT?" I knew fame had a toll on everyone, but so soon? Why would someone spy on other's' life and make money from that? 

"I'm sorry, Angel. I keep trying to protect you from the exposure, and I thought that in our own homeland we would have some privacy, but some people are just unscrupulous. I'm sorry."

"It's ok... What does it say?" I asked curiously.

"Not much. They just assume we're dating."

"Well, they told no lies, right?" I tried to convince myself that it was one time only, but deep down I knew this could only get worse. "Let it go."

"No. I'll know who's the response is and will make sure it won't happen again." He had a harsher tone on his voice than usual.

"Harry, relax, everything is ok."

But I was wrong. It wasn't ok. That didn't stop and as much as we tried to hide our relationship and run away from the public view, they always end up spying on us, posting pictures of us in intimate moments, like when he picked me up bride-style and entered my house.

I tried to handle it, having often to call the police because of some paparazzi following me to work and back home. It was getting out of hand and my heart was too weak to handle this.

I went to the hospital for an appointment. I've been doing that a lot lately. Of course, I didn't tell Harry how bad it was, he would just take the first plane to be by my side and I didn't want it to happen. So I continued pretending I was ok and moved on with my life.

One day, Harry didn't call. I thought he could be busy so I didn't mind. I just texted him and went to sleep. And the next day, there was no reply from him until night. He apologized so much because he was caught up in work.

"I had a show last night, really tiring. Immediately after the show, I had a VIP party, really boring. And today I was all day in an interview, autograph session and those kinds of things. I didn't stop thinking about you all day." He said when I picked up the phone. He called when I was on my computer, scrolling on Facebook.

"You sound tired," I said. "You should get some sleep."

"I want to talk to you. I missed you like crazy." He whispered. "It's getting harder to be away."

"Yeah, I bet it is. VIP parties, crazy fangirls asking you to sign their boobs." I played and he seemed shocked.

"No one ever asked me to do that." After a moment of silence, he asked me: "You think that's going to happen?"

"I don't know, all the celebrities I know said that it happened at least once." Harry continued talking but somehow it seemed like everything around me was mute. Even though I wasn't actually paying attention to the computer, the browser page refreshed and a picture caught my attention. I clicked the link and it redirected the page to a magazine webpage with a big and bold title saying " _Harry Styles intimate moment with Taylor Swift_ ". I scrolled down and read the first few phrases.  _As he already forgotten Angelina? The singer was photographed last night dancing with Taylor Swift in a compromising situation. Click the gallery for more photos._  And stupid as I am, I opened the photos and watched them one by one. They seemed like a sequence of photos taken from the second floor of the disco and yes, they seemed too close to each other.

 _Boring party, uh?_  I thought to myself, smelling a rat.

"... but I'll be back the next week." I finally heard Harry speak. "Were you listening to me?"

I gulped. "Yes. I can't wait to have you back."

"Me too..." He was about to continue talking when I interrupted him.

"I need to go now. I need to sleep. Bye." And before he could say anything else I hung up the phone and turned it off.

 _Ok, I panicked. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS???_ I double checked the photos, terrorized about what I was looking at. Either the photos are fake, which I doubt that, or something was going on and Harry was cheating on me.  _Come one, it's Harry!!! I know him since little kids. We've been friends our whole lives! I know him too well to believe in these bullshits._

But, yet, my mind didn't let me sleep that night, wondering what was really going on.

I avoided Harry's calls the next day. 

It was too much for me to bear when I arrived work the next day and my workmates told me how sorry they were about my relationship with Harry. And when I asked them what the hell they were talking about, they said they saw the pictures.

I froze instantly and my head started spinning around. It was too much. Too much for me. Too much for my heart. And the last thing I remember was to feel the cold floor under me and my coworkers crying my name. And then, there was darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

"Honey, can you listen to me?" 

I opened my eyes slowly, feeling my eyes sore as I tried to handle the light. My mother was by my side, hand stroking my cheeks and calling out for me. I wanted to answer her but I was being pulled back to the darkness and my eyes closed once again.

It seemed like years have passed since I closed my eyes. My body hurt a lot, I couldn't move a finger and my eyes seemed like they were glued.

A nurse was passing by when she saw my awakening. She rushed to my side, opening my eyelids and pointing a light at them.

"Can you hear me, Angelina?" She asked with a soft voice. I could only hum so she smiled. "What a nap you took. Your mother just left, but she'll be back any minute. The doctors will be here right away."

And before I could even wake up properly, doctors were all around me, asking me questions and making sure I responded to outside stimulus.

My mother soon entered the room, running to my side and hugging me on the bed. Her eyes were dark and red and I could see she hadn't' slept at all.

"How long have I been out?" 

"Two days, baby." She answered and I widened my eyes. "It's your heart..." She said with the saddest face I've ever seen on her. Placing a hand on my chest she closed her eyes and sigh. "It started to fail. Until there's a heart for you, you'll have to stay here."

The doctors saw my scared face and proceeded to tell me everything that happened and what the next steps are. They say that I needed to live a relaxed life, away from everything that could worry me and harm my heart, so the last thing I could remember before fainting two days ago was the pictures I saw of Harry and Taylor.

And as soon as those images came back to my head I started feeling dizzy and doctors had to hold me back to bed, as I had another seizure.

I didn't wake up for almost a week. But it felt like I closed my eyes only for a few minutes.

When my vision started to be more clear, I noticed someone else that wasn't my mother, was sleeping on the couch near my bed. After a few seconds of adjusting to the daylight, I saw Harry, hair all messed up, dark circles under his eyes, sleeping peacefully with his arms hugging a pillow.

I smiled but then the memories from the magazines hit me as a train and tears ran down my cheeks.

Harry moved in his sleep until he finally woke up and saw me looking right at him with teary eyes. He smiled.

"Hey there, princess." He approached my bed but I didn't even say a word. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." I simply said.

"I'm going to call the doctors." He kissed my forehead and disappeared out of the room, only to be back with several doctors and nurses. 

Harry stayed back, staring down at me and at the doctors checking on me, patiently waiting for a word from them, but when the doctors had a grave expression on their faces, Harry couldn't contain his tears anymore.

"I'm afraid your heart won't handle the waiting." Dr. Manfield said with a strong voice. "We can only pray for a compatible heart to show up."

"There's must be something else!" Harry protested, approaching the bed and grabbing my hand. 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Styles, but there's nothing we can do. She must be in an induced coma to handle the next weeks until a new heart is ready for her. She can't have any excitement nor any kind of emotions. Anything could be a reason for her heart to give in."

Then, the doctors left the room to prepare the medication for the comma.

Harry was standing still, hand intertwined with mine, staring at the door where the doctors were just a moment ago.

"Harry..."

He seemed like he was in a deep trance since he didn't even hear me.

"Harry!" I shook his hand and he diverted his look to me. "It's going to be alright."

"I can't lose you, Angel. I can't..." He buried his face on my chest and put his ear just on top of my heart, hearing its irregular heartbeat. "I want to hear your heartbeat for the rest of my life. I can't be without you."

"It's ok..." I lied and my tears fell harder down my cheeks. My hand caressed his hair slowly and I planted several kisses on the top of his head.

He sobbed and lifted his head, cleaning the tears away from his face.

"I'm going to do something. We need to get you a heart." He said, with a weak but trying to be confident tone.

"What are you going to do crazy boy?" I asked smiling at him. "Stop. It's ok. I'm ok."

And he finally calmed down, sitting on his couch watching me as I talked about all the times I've been admitted to the hospital for the couple few months. I told him I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to lose his focus on his career. I knew very well that he would leave everything behind like he did this time.

"You should have told me." He whispered.

"Yes. But I didn't. And it wouldn't change a thing."  That came out a little harsher than intended and his eyes were puzzled looking at me.

"Why are you mad at me?" He asked.

"I'm not mad," I answered and he sighed, burying his head on his hands and then looking back at me.

"Look, there's clearly something bothering you. But if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. But either way, I won't leave your side until there's a new heart for you." I opened my mouth to protest but he lifted his hand and shushed me. "There's nothing you can say that will change my mind. I've already arranged everything with my managed, it's handled. Don't even try to talk me out of this."

I relaxed on my pillow in silence and soon after my mother burst into my room, hugging me immediately.

"Mom, I'm not gonna die because of my heart. I'm gonna die because you choked me to death."

_Ops, too soon to joke about this._

Both Harry and mom looked at me with furious faces and I faked an innocent smile at them.

"Not the moment to make jokes." My mother scolded me.

"One day you'll be laughing about this," I said and she rolled her eyes at me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I'm fine. You should talk to the doctors now. They'll induce me to a comma." She widened her eyes and fled the room immediately.

"What a gentle way to tell her things," Harry stated and we stared at each other for some time. 

I swear I fall in love, even more, everything I look to those beautiful green orbs, shining just for me. My best friend. My boyfriend. _What a lucky girl I am._ But then I think about his dreams and his career, and how both our lives aren't meant to co-exist. He can't give up on his dreams because of me. For God's' sake, he put his career on hold because I'm in the hospital! As much as I love him and it pains to say: we can't continue together. I love him and I'm so grateful for having him in my life. But this can't go on.

"What is it?" His happy face and his shiny eyes faded away as soon as he noticed my change of expression. He felt a knot on his stomach because he knew me too well to know that something really bad was hovering my mind and he should be worried when that happens.

He approached me, grabbed my hands and looked me in the eyes.

"Please, tell me what's wrong, baby--" 

"-- Harry, I love you. You know that, don't you?"

He smiled, nodded and closed his eyes when I cupped his cheek and caressed his face. A tear fell from his eye and he inhaled the scent of my skin. 

"You know more than anything that I only wish you to be happy. That your dreams are my priority." He opened slowly his eyes, part of him knowing exactly what I was trying to say. "I can't stand here watching you jeopardize your career, your dreams, because of me. We are from different worlds now, Harry. Both of us are walking on different paths. You can't leave your dreams every time something goes on with me. And I know you so damn well to know you would leave it all without thinking twice."

"Because I love you--" Tears kept falling down his eyes as the realization hit him, as he was watching me follow my own path without him.

"I know." I smiled, mimicking his cry. "That's exactly why we can't keep doing this."

"No. No, I don't accept that." He nodded his head over and over again until he buried it in the crock of my neck.

"I would be a selfish person if I don't stop this before it's too late. Before I ruin your dreams."

"YOU'RE MY DREAM!!!" He yelled and then whispered. "You're my dream. Don't you get it? It's all for you. I'm me because I have you in my life."

"No, Harry. You're so much more. And I want you to know that. You need to know that. Without me."

"Is it because of the news about Taylor? Angel, I swear, I never had anything--"

"I know, Harry." He was shaking so much it pains me to see him this way. "I know."

"So, why? Are your feelings for me fading away?" Even though he knew why I was breaking up with him, he wanted to hold on to something more.

"You know that's not true. You know I love you." I sighed and proceeded. "I'll have you in my life as my friend. As you've always been. But we can't have anything else than that. This won't end well. For none of us."

He didn't say anything. He just cried. And sobbed. And I couldn't help but do the same.

"But I love you..." He whispered over and over again. "I can't leave you now."

"You won't. You'll always be in my heart. The old and the new - if there's any. Harry, I can't go on with the possible transplant, knowing you were wasting your life because of me. Go after your dreams, Harry. Don't let anyone stop you. Not even me."

He nodded but continued crying hugged to me until the doctors entered the room, needles and other objects ready to put me to sleep. 

My mother kissed my forehead, too consumed by sadness to even say a word. But I could feel all her love in that kiss, in those tears... She was my everything, not only was a mother but as a friend. And I wish I could express her my gratitude for these years she put up with me. All those weird rollercoaster of emotions in puberty, when I was mean without thinking twice. Or thank her for taking care of me every time I was sick. Or seeing me leave late for parties and come home even later. But somehow, I know she feels that too. So she smiled and I smiled back.

Then, I pulled Harry to me and made me face me.

"Promise me. You'll go after your dreams, no matter what. Don't give up. Make me proud." He hesitated and I pulled him closer to my face. "Promise me, Harry."

"I promise you." He closed his eyes and let his tears fall on me.

"I love you, Harry. Always have. Always will. No matter what."

"I love you, princess." He connected his lips to mine. 

And I nodded the doctors to finally put me to sleep. Before I closed my eyes, the last thing I heard was Harry whispering in my ear.

_Sleep tight, princess. I'll be waiting for you. And you're right. I should go after my dreams. You are my dream._

Everything was black after that. It was faster than falling asleep. No dreams at first, no feelings, no sensations. Nothing. It was like I was shut down for good. But then, the dreams came. Pleasant dreams. Most of them included Harry.

***

It's been months since I was in an induced coma.

My mother and Harry kept visiting me every day. My co-workers left gifs that were pilling up in the corner of the room for weeks; they left flowers that were withering only to be replaced by new ones; hope for a new heart was vanishing every day.

And mom finally had the talk with Harry.

"She made you promise."

"She didn't realize she is my dream. I'm not giving up on her." He protested.

"Harry. As much as it pains me to say it, she might never come back. And when she comes back, she will be so disappointed that you wasted your life to be in a hospital room every day. She won't forgive you, you know her too well."

He sighed and let his body slide in the chair, watching me peacefully sleeping in front of him.

"You know I'm right. Harry, do it for her." His eyes left my body and focused on my mother. "Go, take a shower. And move on with your life. She'll be here. And I promise you're the one that I will call first if anything changes."

After a while considering her words, Harry got up, planted a long and wet kiss on my forehead, telling me in his mind how much he loved me, before leaving the room with his fists clenched, ready to face the world for me.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Harry hasn't been in London for three weeks now. God knows how much his heart was tight in his chest for being far too long away from me. But he promised and he was intending to continue with his life.

His album was a huge success being number one on several countries all around the world. There were good critics about his music and how deep his message was. There have been speculations about who the album is about, being exposed names as Taylor Swift and Angelina. But Harry decided to keep that to himself. He owed me that.

So he sang night after night on different stages for different people, giving all his heart to his loyal fans, singing about the love of his life without anyone notice that.

Every day he would call mom to ask her if there were any news and every day he would go to bed, tears leaving his eyes. The answer would always be the same.

"Oh, Harry, you know I would call you immediately if there's any development."

"I know. But I wake up every day hoping today would be different." He confessed.

"Me too..." She whispered, too weak to continue the conversation.

So they just hung up and the next day the conversation was the same. So, Harry continued singing a fake smile on his lips, while his heart was tearing apart. 

His own friends from One Direction called him often asking him how everything was going and when they asked about the sweet Angel he would tear down and cry at the phone.

But one day it all changed. One day my mother didn't answer the phone, as much as he insisted. He tried for hours and hours but there was no response. 

Harry opened his laptop and started looking for ticket planes to get to London as soon as possible, making a reservation for the next day morning. He looked at the clock and saw it marked 11 P.M., so he tried one more time to call my mother.

She picked up the phone, puffy like she has been running a marathon.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I went to the hospital and forgot my phone home. There is news... " She gulped and took a deep breath. Harry's' grip on the phone tightened as if it would make him hear better. "There is a new heart for her. It will be here at night and they will make the transplant right away."

Harry gasped, feeling the floor abandoning his feet, as he let his body sink against the couch.

"I have a trip scheduled tomorrow morning to London. I'll be there."

"Ok, fly safely."

He didn't know how many times he turned around in his bed. His mind was racing with thoughts of losing me forever, so, before he ended up crazy, he got up, picked up his guitar, a paper, and a pen and started writing all of his emotions into a ballad.

Before he knew it, it was time for his flight. 6 A.M. was marked on the clock when he picked up his stuff and got a cab. It was the most painful trip of his life, hours and hours of tightness in his heart for not knowing how the surgery was going, so he just closed his eyes and prayed.

When he arrived at The Royal London Hospital he found a pandemonium. Reporters and cameras everywhere pointed at him.

 _What's your relationship with Angelina? Is she still your girlfriend?_  A Reporter yelled.

 _What are you going to do if she dies?_  Another asked.

Millions and millions of stupid questions were yelled by those vultures, thirsty for a slight emotion form the famous singer. 

Totally in panic, he dodged the reporters, head looking down to avoid the flashes until he was finally able to enter the hospital. My mother was sitting in the waiting room, her eyes were swollen and she was playing with a wet tissue with her fingers in a nervous way.

"Have you seen the circus outside?" She asked sniffing.

"Yes. I'm so, so sorry... I can't control them." He kneeled in front of her and she looked at him for the first time.

"It's not me you'll have to apologize. It's Angel." She said harshly. "She's been in there for hours..."

"There is no news?" There was a lump in his throat that made his voice sound weak.

My mother just nodded no and resumed her low gazer, playing with the tissue. Harry didn't know what else to say or to ask, so he sat by her side watching the white wall in front of him for hours. Every kind of thoughts racing through his mind until a doctor called for them.

"How is she?" My mother asked hopefully.

The doctor sighed and tried to be honest. "We don't know yet. The surgery was very hard but it was a success. Now, all we need to do is to wait for her body to respond positively."

My mother hugged Harry and he tightened the hug.

"When can we see her?" Harry asked.

"Soon. For now, she'll be on close observation, there's still much to do. You should be able to see her in three, four hours maybe. Go home, get some rest. She'll need you both in full strength."

Then he left the two hugged in the middle of the waiting room.

"Have you eaten anything?" Harry nodded, too vulnerable to say anything. "Come, let's go home. I'll make lunch and you can have a sleep. In her room. It usually calms me down. You seem like you need it, you look awful."

"I couldn't sleep tonight." He confessed.

"Oh, Harry, she made you promis--" Harry interrupted her.

"I know. And I haven't broken that promise. I used the insomnia of tonight to compose a new song. Maybe it will be ready when she wakes up." He smiled. "It's about her."

My mother smiled and soon after they were leaving the hospital through the back door, only used by workers. This way they dodged the reporters and went home in peace.

It was strange to enter my room after all those months. Harry could still feel the fruity scent of my D&G perfume hovering the air. It made him smile. He looked at the frames of pictures exposed, most of them being of us two through the years. On the bed was the big teddy bear he offered me on my 18th anniversary. And on the bedside table was the music box he created with his own two hands, with music that he, himself, composed; a sweet and simple ballad that represented all the feelings he contained inside his heart.

As he walked through the room, memories of our moments together came to his mind. When he first climbed the balcony. The first time he accidentally fell asleep on my bed and woke up by my side. The first time we almost had sex. And the first time we did. He could almost feel my touch on his cheeks, my teeth on his neck as my hands explored his body.

"You can take a bath if you want." His vivid memories were interrupted by my mother's' voice behind him. "I'm sorry, did I startled you?"

"I was just remembering the good moments I had with her since the beginning."

"You saved my little girl from the bullies. She was always so lonely, so sad... And you saved her and never forgot about her, even after being THE Harry Styles. No matter what, I'll always be grateful for that." A tear ran down her cheek and Harry smiled.

"And she saved me too. She made me run after my dreams. But she was wrong about something: we do belong together. No matter what she says. You know that too, don't you?"

My mother looked down, sighed and sat on the bed.

"You do. But it's her decision, Harry. I only want her to be happy. Even if it's not with you." Watching as Harry's' sweet smile faded away she smiled. "But she'll always love you. It doesn't matter if you're together or not. You belong together. She just needs to discover that by herself. And I only ask you one thing: do as she wants. Whether she wants you by her side or not."

"Barbara, I can't do that." The first time Harry treated my mother by her first name, without any formalities.

"She's my daughter and I'll stick with her, no matter what."

"And she's the love of my life!" He whispered angrily. "I will never turn my back on her."

"You don't need to do that. You just need to respect her decisions, no matter what."

He didn't say anything else. He just nodded and sat on the bed by her side. 

After a while she called him to eat lunch and then he got back to my room, falling asleep, cuddling with the teddy bear that had my smell. Pleasant dreams he had. Simple, but pleasant. But they were interrupted once again by my mother calling him to get up. She received a call from the hospital saying I had wakened up and asked for her family.

With his heart racing, threatening to be expelled through his mouth, Harry and Mother hurried out of the house, back to the hospital. Once again, they entered through the back door, avoiding all the commotion at the front door.

"Where is he?" Mother asked the secretary. She politely asked them to wait until the doctor is ready to talk to them and they obeyed, impatiently.

Twenty minutes have passed when the doctor finally showed up and allowed them to enter the room. But when they reached for the door, they heard an alarm coming from my room and they ran as fast as they could.

"What is going on here?" A nurse entered right behind them and scolded the unwanted visitor.

I was peacefully resting in my hospital bed, connected to all kinds of machines when someone opened the door very slowly. I smiled, thinking it would be my mother or even Harry. But when I turned around there an unknown man taking pictures with his cell phone, and a recording machine on the other hand.

"Angelina, I'm Mark Davidson, a reporter from the Stars's' Magazine. Can I ask you some quick questions? I won't nag you for too long." Without giving me a chance to answer him he started asking questions. "How are you feeling with your new heart? Is there any space on your new heart for Harry Styles?"

"How did you enter here?" I yelled, already looking for the little controller that connects to the nurses station.

"What is your current relationship status with the ex-member of One Direction?" He insisted, approaching the bed. 

My heart started racing, the heart rate monitors started beeping too loud.

"Please, leave me alone."

And before he could say one more word, Harry, Mother and a nurse entered the room, yelling at the man.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The nurse scolded the man, approaching me to check if I was alright.

Harry hurried to the man, violently grabbing his cell phone and his recorder, throwing it to the ground and squeezing it hard with his foot. Then, he approached the man, grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall.

"If I see you near her again, if I see an article about her written by you, you're gonna pay for this. Mark my words. You won't be able to have a job not even in a shitty pink magazine. You're lucky if they don't call the police. Get the hell out of my sight!" He shook the man once again before releasing him from his grip. 

The man just ran out of the room and Harry finally turned to me, eyes puffy for crying and his red face for the anger he was feeling inside. But as soon as his eyes landed on me, his expression melted and tears started flowing down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry..." He approached my bed and bowed his head on my lap, hands on my legs, asking for forgiveness. "This is all my fault..."

"Harry..." I whispered. "Harry!" I spoke louder and he looked at me. "I'm here, it's ok."

And he finally broke down, hugged me and sobbed like he used to do all these months when I was in the hospital, unable to even look at him. 


	10. Chapter 10

The next months were hard. My recovery was slow but was happening at its own speed. 

I was finally able to leave my bed and walk through the hospital' garden, breath fresh air and feel free once again. My mother never left my side, working late some days and being with me on the others.

There were lots of examinations to do before being released from the hospital. I even had to run, to check if the heart would function properly when beating too fast. At first, it hurt, it seemed like my chest was being stabbed and remained sore for a few days. But after some time, it was normal, beating at a proper rate and feeling like a heart should be.

Harry returned to his work, visiting whenever he was able to do so. When he could be there with me, he called me every day, several times, actually. But he never once asked me about our relationship status. He was respecting my decision and I was grateful for that.

"Well, it's a beautiful day in London. How about you being released today?" The doctor entered my room with papers on his hand and a smile on his face.

"It seems perfect to me!" I smiled, too excited with the news.

"I already called your mother half an hour ago, she must be arriving very soon to take you." He approached me and handed me the paper. "There's a subscription of some medication you should strictly follow. And there are a few recommendations for the next months. You can read that at home. There's just one advice for you: don't be too emotional the next days. Avoid emotional moments, good or bad. It will take some times for your body to accept the new organ, but it's going very well. I'm actually impressed with your recovery. Congratulations and I wish you a good life."

"Thank you, doctor. I'm forever grateful for everything you did for me."

"It's my job. And it is an honor to take care of good people like you. Have a nice day."

Soon after my mother walked in with a huge smile on her face. She had a bouquet of flowers and chocolates in her hand.

And finally, we were able to leave the hospital - through the backdoor, once again. I took a deep breath as soon as I walked away from that building, hoping that I wouldn't come back anytime soon.

"So, what's the first thing you want to do, dear?" My mother asked me.

"Hmm..." I thought about all the stuff that I missed while I was in the hospital and the first thing that occurred through my mind was eating a hamburger from McDonald's. My mother laughed at my desire but she ended up driving towards the next restaurant nearby.

When I was done eating and after a long conversation about the future with my mother she took me back home. You have no idea how much of a relief I felt as soon as I saw my beautiful home and when my mother finally parked her car in the garage. As soon as we got out of the car, my mother was acting strangely. Nervous, actually.

"What's wrong, mom?" I asked her, snapping her away from her thoughts, while she was trying to open the garage door. As soon as the door was opened, it revealed the back corridor that led to the kitchen.

"Nothing, baby girl. Why do you ask?"

She didn't give me the time to answer, a wide smile formed on her lips when he reached for the living room. The room was fully decorated with balloons and "Welcome home" signs everywhere. The dining table was filled with cakes, sweets, finger food, all kind of beverages and the room was filled with my friends and family. 

"Surprise!!!" They all chanted in sync, blowing confetti in the air.

"Welcome home, baby." My mother hugged me, too overwhelmed with all the people that came to see me.

I was speechless with the surprise. I wasn't expecting that show at all and even though I was tired, I was happy for having all the important people there for me. Well, not all of them. Someone was missing. Someone very special.

I hugged every single person inside that house, thanking them for all the get well gifts they've been giving along the previous months. From the bottom of my heart, my new heart, I was grateful for having so many people in my life that love me and what to see me thriving.

But noticing my curious look, scanning all of the guests, my mother approached me and smile while she whispered to me.

"He couldn't make it. Work stuff. But he promised he would be here as soon as possible." I made her a puzzled look as if I didn't know what she was talking about. "Well, you're my daughter. I know you. You're looking for Harry."

I blushed and looked to the guests, diverting my look from hers. 

"How are you holding up? With him, I mean." She asked.

I sighed and tried to be honest with her.

"I don't know, mom. I really don't know what to do."

She smiled and gave me a pat on my shoulders. 

"You've always been a smart girl. You'll know what's best for you when the time comes. And I know he would wait for you until the end of the world. He's such a good kid."

"He's not a kid anymore, mom. Neither am I." I smiled, remembering her that we've actually grown up.

She muffled a laugh and nodded, not saying another word until the rest of the party was over and the guests left the house content. I insisted with my mother to help her with cleaning the leftovers, but she denied, saying it was her idea, so she wanted to clean it all by herself. So I decided to go to my room -  _finally._

It was just as I left it. Clean and tidy. Smelling like red fruits. 

I walked around the room, scanning my stuff when my eyes were locked with pictures of Harry and me since our childhood. I picked them up from the frames and studied our features and how we were so different now, but yet, the same. We never made anything to hurt each other, talking about everything that bothers us. We always tried to mend things together, without turning our backs. I only hope that our future continues like that.

Sighing, I dressed my Harry Potter pajama, a long t-shirt that I hear as a dress at night and got inside my bed, picking the book I was reading back in the hospital - The origin, by Dan Brown. I was in the middle of the book when I left the hospital and so, I opened the book and continued reading for maybe a couple of hours when my mother finally called me to have dinner.

Then, I resumed my reading back in my room, only to be interrupted by a knock on my window.

I smiled, knowing very well who it could be.

I turned around and there he was, his wide smile on his face and his shiny green eyes staring at me with so much love. I blushed but opened the window for him, taking a step back, as he took a step forward. Without saying a word, he pulled me to his arms and hugged me tightly to his chest.

I inhaled the scent of his perfume, feeling my body quivering at the same time.  _How I missed his touch,_ I thought to myself.

"I'm sorry for not being able to come to your party." Harry interrupted my racing thoughts.

"It's ok. I like this party better." I smiled and he planted a kiss on my forehead, locking his eyes on mine. 

Both our breaths became uneven, hearts pounding inside our chests, and an electric tension running through every inch of our skin. I swear he was about to kiss me in my lips when he parted his lips and leaned in. But then, something occurred through his mind and he stopped, releasing me from his embrace.

Walking to my bed and throwing himself on top of it, I mimicked him, after releasing a deep breath.

"How's work?"

"Amazing, princess. Amazing. My album's a success. People really enjoy my music..." He turned his head to me, looking me in the eyes. "Because of you."

I smiled and blushed, looking away from him. But with his index finger, he lifted my chin and forced me to lock my eyes on him.

"Really, you are my inspiration. Thank you." Then he pulled his finger away and continued talking about his adventures while he was away from me the couple weeks. I always get so enthusiastic with his stories, laughing whenever he told me about incidents with crazy fans.

Then he talked about the Grammys.

"There are rumors that I'll be one of the nominees for best album and "Sign of Times" for the best song." 

"Really? That's amazing Harry!" I jumped to a sitting position and he did the same.

"If I ever win a prize for that album, I'll give it to you. This is all for you, Angel." He honestly said.

I didn't answer him, my heart pounding really fast inside my chest but he didn't dare to look away from me. Instead, his body approached mine and his hands landed on both of my cheeks, cupping them and caressing my skin. I closed my eyes, finally feeling his loving touch.

"You're the reason... you're my reason. Even if..." He gulped. "even if we never get back together."

"Harry..." I whispered and opened my eyes slightly.

"I know... I know." He took his hands off my cheeks but I grabbed them and intertwined my fingers with his.

"Harry, I'm only thinking about my well being. And my personal life. It's not that I don't love you because I do..." His eyes melted to a hopeful gaze that was immediately ceased. "But your life and mine are incompatible. You have a life where you need to be everywhere, you need to be with your fans, to show your work to everyone. And I'll probably be here forever. And before we know it, we're those boring couples, that only see each other once in a month and whenever we're together we only fight. We are best friends, Harry. We can't throw that away for a relationship that might not work."

"But I love you, Angel. I love you so much. I would do anything to have you by my side. Anything!" He cupped my cheeks again. "It only makes sense if you're with me. Please... Angel, I don't want to lose you."

"You will never lose me, Harry. I'll always be here for you. I'll always be your best friend and--" He interrupted me, getting up from the bed abruptly and walking furiously around the room.

"Fuck it! I want you as more than a best friend. You're the love of my life, can't you see that? The music, the fame, the fans, none of that makes any sense to me if I don't have you by my side. All the love songs I sing, all the lyrics I write, they're all about you, because you're the only person that I think about."

"Harry, I'm sorry, but--"

"No! You don't get to say you're sorry." He approached the window, preparing to leave. "I would do anything for you, for us. Anything. I would make things work. Every day. You need to decide whether I'm enough for you to do the same. I'll give you space enough to decide whatever you want."

And without any more words, he opened the window and left me alone in my room, tears blurring my vision, my heart racing and my body trembling with all the crazy emotions that watching him leave like that provoked.

_Was he right? Was I being too scared of something so simple?_

 I played that moment on repeat in my head, over and over again. The way he left my room, angry. No, furious!  _Is that how I want our relationship to be?_

Being in the position he was, wasn't easy. He was now a famous singer, internationally known. Magazines, television and all kinds of reporters wanted a piece of him. A piece of information about his personal life. They even stood as vultures at the hospital' door, sneaking in to get an interview with me. I was having a heart transplant, for Christ' Sake! And they still intruded in such a delicate situation, all for a photo, for a reaction, for any fuck that made them win the day. _Was I ready to endure all of that, for Harry?_

I wasn't sure what the answer was. But in the next few days, whenever I tried to talk to him to help me unpuzzle my thoughts, he didn't answer me. At all.

So I did what was best and continued with my life, recovering at my own pace until I was able to get back to work, to my normal life. Empty without Harry.

The only information I had about him was either from the newspapers or from his mother, that was worried about our backs turned to each other. She said she never saw her son so lost like that months and that she didn't know if he's going to handle the pressure from the world he was in for too long.

Maybe I made a mistake by pushing him away. But he was making a bigger one by not answering my calls, not even when I needed to tell him the news about my job, about the proposition that was made by Australian scientists.

One morning when I arrived at work there was a man sitting in the waiting room. He was very handsome, maybe in his thirties, suited up, with an envelope in one hand, and his tablet in the other. As soon as I walked inside the back door of the clinic, my coworker, Catherin, called immediately.

"Angel. There's a hot guy asking for you. He has a funny accent."

"Didn't he say who he was?" I asked, peering over the receptionist mirror.

Catherin nodded no but continued talking. "He only said he was here to talk about the Larry's' horse."

A couple of months ago, Larry Morgon showed up at our clinic, terrified about his female horse condition. She lost weight, being extremely thin; her fever was very very high; and she was tired, with no strength to get up. When I examined the poor creature, she was showing signs of Equine Infectious Anemia, a potentially fatal condition, transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as horse flies, deer flies, and mosquitoes or by passage across the placenta directly to the foal.

There is no actual cure for that decease yet. They could only take preventive measures, as don't reuse instruments or needles on more than one horse without sterilization, test, and quarantine new or traveling horses, and test all horses at least annually.

I advised Larry to euthanize his horse but he refused, saying he like the horse too much to kill her. As much as I insisted, he asked me to at least try. And after a long conversation, we decided to try to study the disease.

I dive into tons of books and read lots of scientific articles on the internet about new information about the disease and I myself, took some blood samples of healthy horses and the sick one, to actually see the differences. And after weeks and weeks of tests, I finally tried to cure the horse with a medication made by me. The horse had several seizures for a week. But after that, her health improved magically, and she started eating and walking again. She started gaining some weight and after weeks of treatment, she was back to health again.  _A miracle_ , Larry said.

And after that, I submitted my work to the scientific community in hope to help fellows veterinaries in similar conditions.

What I wasn't expecting was that a laboratory located in Australia was interested in my work and actually sent a guy to ask me to work with them.

"Some of the scientists were excited with your new method and wanted you to work with them in the pursuit of a cure for that atrocious disease." The man said. His same is Chester, 28 years old, born in Queensland. He was sent by the laboratory to invite me and to spend a few days in London to learn with me about how I managed to treat the disease.

"Oh... I don't know..." I said, uncertain of what to say to the man.

"Please, allow me to pay you lunch so we can talk about the proposition."

He kindly offered a ride to a nearby restaurant, where we ordered some Toad in the hole, a recipe made with sausages and pasta. I made sure to order typical food from England and when we finished eating he was more than satisfied. 

"This is amazing..." He crossed his cutlery on the plate and leaned back against his chair. The lunch went well, he made sure to tell me every piece of information about the job proposition and about the confidentiality associated. The cure could worth billions of dollars, so they couldn't risk information leakage. If I accepted the job, I would have to go for a year to Australia, to Sidney, alone, no contact with the rest of the world, unless it's authorized.

"That's too much..." I said.

"Yes, it is. But considering all the factors, information going to the wrong hands, phone espionage, and other kinds of information leakage, they just want to make sure it all remains in secret until any product is made." Chester explained, but still, I wasn't thrilled by the proposition.

"Look, you don't need to give me an answer just yet. I'll be here for a few days and we'll be in touch. I can tell you whatever you need to know and I can even make a call with the big dogs." He then smiled warmly. "Please, don't say no just yet."

So the rest of the lunch we talked about other work stuff, I told him about my academic studies and how I managed to open my own clinic. He also told me about his career, as a scientist for the Australian Veterinary Laboratory as well as personal traits. And before I knew it, we were talking for hours about personal stuff, dreams, and aspirations in life. It seemed too easy to talk to Chester, he was a good listener and a good company.

And the next days he would show up at the clinic and would take me to lunch. At first, I thought he was being nice because he wanted me to accept the proposition but when he invited me to have dinner with him Friday night, I started thinking otherwise.

But either way, I accepted his invitation.

I told my mother everything. About the job proposition and about Chester inviting me to have lunch and dinner. And even though I could see worry flashing through her eyes, she just wanted me to be happy, so she just smiled.

The dinner was amazing, as always, but even though there was nothing between me and Harry - hell, he hasn't even answered my calls for weeks! - I felt a lump in my throat when I went back home, got to bed and looked at the frames with photographs of me and Harry.


	11. Chapter 11

Sunday morning I was woken up by my cell phone ringing. It took me away from a very pleasant dream that I immediately forgot as soon as I snapped my eyes open. The phone stopped ringing and I groaned, turning it on to see who was on the ID.

_Harry_

I gasped. 

There were actually messages from him. It also seemed desperate, I didn't quite understand what was going on, he told me he was getting crazy because of me. Everywhere he goes he sees me, that he can't go on like that. Other messages were so confused. He asked me how was I capable of doing such atrocity to him if he meant so little to me.

Not knowing what the hell he was talking about, I tried to call him back but it went straight to the voice mail.

And since there was no callback, I got up and went for my morning run. 

Cellphone on my arm, plug on ears, I found myself listening to Harry's' album. Over and over again I've listened to his songs and they were more touching than ever.

Just out of curiosity I made a turn left and ran through the street where he "lives". I don't know where he lives anymore, he's never home. Or at least, he doesn't tell me whenever he's back.

His mother was already outside, taking her dog to pee.

"Good morning, Angel. It's good to see you!"

"Hey, how are you?" I gave her a kiss in the cheek and she smiled.

"I'm fine. Did you come to see Harry?" She asked and before I could say anything she continued talking. "Well, you just missed him, honey. He just left."

"He's here??? He's home?" I asked her and she nodded confused by my ignorance about his presence. She told me he was on vacations for a few days actually. But he never left home, until that morning.

I took my way back home, millions of thoughts racing through my mind. My sweaty body needed a shower and I needed to clear my head. My mother wouldn't be home that day, she had to take an extra shift to cover a colleague. S _o she must have left maybe 10 minutes ago_ , I thought while looking at my wristwatch.

As soon as I started going upstairs, I started taking off my accessories and clothes. I took my wristwatch and the pocket attached to my arm to hold my phone, unleashed my hair from the ponytail and took off my tank top, exposing my yellow sports bra. When I entered my room and my hands went to unzip the top, I yelled startled with the presence inside my room.

"SHIT! HARRY!!!" I complained. "You scared me to death!!! What the fuck?"

He was sitting on my bed, with a magazine on his hands. He lifted his eyes to me and his expression melted. I tried to cover my exposed bra, shielding it from his gaze with my white tank top.

"It's not like I never saw that before." He said when he saw my embarrassment.

"I know -- What are you doing here? How did you get in?" I asked, looking in my drawers for some new clothes, an excuse to not face him.

"Your mother let me in." He got up from the bed. "Is it true? About Australia? And the job proposition?"

_How the hell did he found out about that? MOM!!! UUUUUGH._

"Yes. Why?"

He ignored my question. Now that I was facing him, he was a mess. Red eyes with dark circles, hair all messed up. "Are you going?"

"I don't know. Why?" I tried to look strong enough but my voice cracked and it came out as a whisper when Harry got up from the bed and slowly approached me.

"You're going with him? Uh? Who is he?" 

"He? Who?" I asked, confused.

"That man you had dinner with. It must be the one your mother told me about, the one that came here to invite you to work with them. Tell me, is this the same man?" He asked me, showing me the front page of some shitty magazine, where it could be seen a picture of me having dinner with Chester the previous night.  _Harry ex-girlfriend, Angelina, is seen in an intimate moment with a new man. Is she over Harry? Turn page 3 to find out more._

I snapped the magazine from his hand, opening the page where I read bullshit about me and pictures about that night.

"What the fuck?..." I whispered.

"Is it true, though?" He asked once again, approaching me with teary eyes. "Is it?"

"Harry, you know how these stupid magazines are."

"So you're telling me that's not you having dinner with some guy?" He asked, taking one step closer.

"I can have dinner with whoever I please." I trembled but anger started boiling inside my veins. "And what gives you the right to ask me for explanations if you ignored my existence for two fucking months?"

"I gave you space." He pointed at the magazine and threw me an angry but sad look. "And I see you made your decision."

"What the hell, Harry?" I took a deep breath in despair. "Look, Chester came all the way from Australia ordered by his bosses, to take me with him to work for them for a whole year. We had lunch over the week, to talk about stuff. I haven't made my mind yet. And he then asked me to have dinner and I thought  _What the fuck, I have nothing better to do Friday night since my best friend was on town on vacations the whole week and didn't even returned my calls. Why not?_  And then I had dinner with him. End of story."

"Do you like him?" He threw the question at me immediately.

"What??? I've known him for a week, Harry." I rolled my eyes. "And see? See what's like to see pictures and news about you with another woman on the cover of those magazines? Now you know what it feels like when everybody asks if you're dating Taylor Swift and forgot about me!"

"So this was just revenge?" He spits out.

"No. And you're stupid for thinking that way." I turned around to go to the bathroom but returned again. "This is why our relationship would never work. There's no privacy. They would dig our personal life until there's nothing left."

"There are ways to keep them away." He said, almost as if he was pleading.

"It would take a toll on us. Probably too much for us to bear." I muffled a laugh. "Look at us now, we don't talk enough, damn, we don't talk at all!!! You ignored me for months, our friendship is more than shaken. What's left?"

"I still love you. You're still the one I've been thinking about every night and every day. You're still the only reason for me to hold on."

I looked down, knowing that if I look him in the eyes I would throw my arms around his neck and get lost with him.

"Harry, it's not fair for me..."

"Please, just give me a chance... One chance, that's all I'm asking."

I sighed in despair but nodded no. 

His teary eyes were blurred with more tears, his face turned red with anger and he turned around to leave the house.

"Again? Really? You're running away again? Now it would be what? Six months for you to talk to me again?"

I yelled and he turned back to me. This time he positioned himself right in front of me, nose almost touching mine, breathing heavily on me. His hands landed on my waist and pulled me close to his body.

"Being with you and not being able to touch you, - to show you how much I love you - it's worse than not having you at all." 

And after that, he just crashed his lips against mine.

At first, I was frozen in place by his attitude, but then I couldn't take it anymore. I deepened the kiss and my hands automatically started taking off his shirt and unbutton his pants.  _God, how I missed that moment. The moment where he exposes all his vulnerabilities of his naked body. The moment he shows me that he belongs to me._

He mimicked me, releasing me from my tank top once again, along with my tank top and my leggings. Meanwhile, he had me pinned against the drawers, where all the stuff fell with the impact of our bodies. I couldn't remember when was the last time I felt that way fire inside my body ready to be released.

We both couldn't wait any longer, we needed to feel each other deeply. So I opened my legs and he positioned himself in the middle, his playing with an erection in my entrance, feeling the heaven he missed for months. And without waiting any more, he penetrated me, going as deep as he could, both of us releasing moans concealed inside our lungs.

We locked eyes with each other, and he started doing movements in and out, accompanied by our moans. He pulled me closer, never stopping his movement, to kiss me in the lips, more passionately than ever. His hands were intertwined with my hair and my were wandering his back, pulling him harder against me. 

Without pulling out of me, he picked me up in his lap, his hands grabbing my ass and his arms bearing the weight of my body and entered the bathroom, turning on the hot water. Then, he sat me on the washstand and intensified his pace, his hips smacking loudly against my skin.

"I love you." He whispered in my lips.

"I love you," I answered, pulling him to another kiss.

When the water was finally at the desired temperature, he picked me up once again without pulling out of me and pinned me against the cold tiles of the shower wall. And he started with a more violent and wilder pace, penetrating me and moaning as he felt his dick twitching by the orgasm that was threatening to explode. But before spreading his seed inside me he wanted to make sure I had my pleasure, so with a wet finger he rubbed my clit in a circular motion and quickened his penetration pace.

Soon after I moaned louder, as I felt the burning sensation inside me leaving my body in the form of a liquid, squirting a little against him. Then he finally allowed himself to take his prize and let his seed fill me inside.

Both of us were panting and moaning as we felt our orgasms wear off. 

He pulled out of me and helped me to stay up since my legs were failing on me.

I remained hugged to him for some time, feeling our breathing become normal. Then we let the water wash off our sated bodies.

"I swear, every time it's like the first time." He whispered while he planted kisses on my shoulders. I had my back turned to him while I was washing the rest of my body.

"Why?"

"It feels like I'm in heaven." His hands landed on my waist, pulling me closer to him."What does this mean, Angel?"

"I don't know..." I sighed. "Harry, I still think this wouldn't work..."

"But we're so great together. I love you and you love me, right?" He asked, almost like he was pleading.

"I do... But is that enough?" He turned me around to face him and I sighed, leaning my forehead against his. "It's better if we just enjoy this moment. It's better if we don't talk about this for now. Otherwise, we end up fighting with you leaving me, or we just end up having sex again." I smiled and he smiled back.

"Why is that wrong?"

I didn't answer him anymore and we just finished our shower in silence. Occasionally Harry would plant a kiss on my shoulders and hug me from behind, holding me like he was afraid of losing me. But we both knew things were about to get harder.

Laying on my bed, we were talking about my job, about the recent events that led to the job proposition. Harry really seemed excited by my discovery, but every time I talked about Chester, his smile vanished.

We were interrupted by his cell phone, ringing loud. He picked it up and by the look on his face, he would have to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked with his puppy green eyes.

"Maybe," I said with a smile on my face.

***

Monday morning. 

 _I hate Mondays._ Even though I had my dream job, I still hate the sound of the alarm, waking me up every day at 7.30 A.M. 

My morning routine is short and I always get out of the house 20 minutes after getting in the shower. I don't pay much attention to what I'm wearing, I wear a white gown all day, so, fuck it. I would even go in my pajamas if it wasn't too much.

The day went by so quickly that I didn't even realize it was almost time to leave. My phone vibrated with a message from Harry, saying he was outside work, waiting for me. He had made plans for dinner and I was invited -  _whether I want it or not._

I rolled my eyes at his text message and answered him, accepting his invitation.

But things turned out differently. 

As I left the clinic and turned to go to my car, Chester showed up with a red rose on his hand and chocolates on the other, along with a wide smile on his lips.

"Hey, beautiful." He said.

"Hi, Chester." He handed me the flower and the chocolates and I made an uncomfortable change of leg for support. I knew Harry was watching the full scenario, and I would be pissed off too, honestly. "What is all this?"

"I... I don't know." He muffled a laugh. "This is so strange. I know you for a week and you're all that I think of." He approached me slowly and my breathing became uneven. "I don't know if you feel the same, but there's this... unexplainable tension between us. It's almost unbearing."

"What are you saying, Chester?" I started backing away, step by step.

"I'm saying that I like you. And I somehow feel that you like me too." I was now with my back almost against my car, too scared to run away. 

"Please, stop." I pleaded and he ignored my commentary. He continued approaching me, putting a hand on each side of my car, blocking my way out.

"Not until you admit your feelings for me."

Suddenly he was thrown away from me, falling to the floor. Harry was bitting his nails inside his car, while assisting the show and when he saw me backing away, he ran in our direction, anger boiling inside his body.

"I believe the lady said no."

"And you are you---" Chester went silent after seeing Harry's face and recognizing him. "Harry Styles?" He got up from the floor.

"I advise you to leave," I said to Chester.

"You're dating him?" Chester asked, approaching me, but Harry got int he way, block his passage. Chester eyed him with a defiant look and I had to hold Harry's' arm to stop him from getting into a fight.

"Go away, Chester. And never come back. You can tell your bosses that I refuse the proposition. And if you try to fuck my life, I would tell them what you tried to do."

Without a word he just fled, cursing us under his breath.

"Are you ok?" I asked Harry.

"No." He said blankly without looking at me. Then he started walking back to his car, leaving me frozen in place.

"Harry!" I called his name but he ignored me.

And much to my surprise -  _or not. He's been doing this very often, lately._ \- He took off in his car, without looking back. It seemed to me that our dinner plans were canceled.

I tried to call him so many times and, once again, he ignored them. It was becoming a habit, really. Day after day, I tried to reach him, by text messages, calls, voice messages, emails... I even considered sending him a carrier-pigeon!!!

I knocked on his door until his mother showed up.

"Hey, honey. Is everything alright?"

"Hi. Is Harry home?" I asked, impatiently looking inside her house.

"No, Angel. He had to leave earlier, back to New York."

"Why? Wasn't he on vacations?" I asked desperately.

"Yes, but you know how these things work. Always so busy. Did anything happened between you two?" She gave me a worried look and I just smiled at her, assuring her everything was ok But they weren't. Harry went away without saying a word.  _Was he hurt? I assured him there was nothing between me and Chester and then he sees that show. I would be pissed off._

But this time, the look on his eyes, with no feelings attached, felt like daggers in my heart. Harry made up his mind that moment, he knew I tried to move on while he was away. It was his fault really. But he never thought that I would actually go out with someone and develop feelings for another person.

And when he saw that show in from of him, he knew there was some space in my heart for Chester. He thought for a second that his mind was playing tricks on him. But then he thought about it for some more time, and he knew he didn't lose his mind.

So he ran away, as far away as he could. Away from me. From the crazy feelings that have been haunting him since the first kiss. Whenever he was away, focused on his songs, his heart would give him a time to heal. But all his songs were about me. The old and the new.  _How could he ever forget me?_   _What if he had made a terrible mistake leaving me like that?_

He swore several times that he heard my voice calling for him at night, while he rolled on the bed, too troubled to fall asleep.

Sick of that anguish feeling his heart, he picked up his phone and started writing a text message. A long text message and he pressed  _send_ , falling asleep almost immediately.

 


	12. Chapter 12

It's been two weeks since I last saw Harry. I woke up every morning like I was hit by a train. This time, it took a toll on me. We didn't even have a chance to try to be together, why would he run away like that? He did ask me for a chance and I was willing to give him.

Even now, I was willing to be with him. If only he answered my prayers.

One afternoon, my phone rang and my heart twitched.

Trembling when I saw the sender, I opened the long text message and read it.

First of all, I should apologize to you for leaving like that. I keep running away from you, too scared to face the truth about your feelings for me. When I saw you on the cover of that magazine, it was like a bath of cold water. Thinking of you with someone else, it makes my stomach turn and twitch. It makes me sick. I love you too much to live in a world you're not in. You assured me about him, about not having intentions of dating the guy. But then, when I saw him make his movement at you, I saw something completely different. I saw uncertainty. Maybe you considered that your life would be much easier with someone like him. Away from the limelight that comes attached to me. And for that, I thought twice about being with you. Because you deserve that. You deserve so much better than this shitty world that I chose to me. You don't have to choose it too. That's why I left. I want you to take a chance to see what's out there and have a chance to be happy. A normal happy. But know this: I will always love you. Always. As much as the years pass, you'll always be the love of my life. 

By the end of the text, I didn't know what I was feeling exactly. Sadness, for sure, a big lump in my throat making me nervous, anxiety, anger, overwhelm and so many other sensations that made me throw up. Literally. I had to run to my bathroom to throw up.

Then I read the message again. And again.

Was this the end of it? Of everything? 

For the two months, Harry ignored my existence, I tried to make sure I would be ready for that end. But this was too much to bear. Too much to one simple creature to endure. Now I realize how much he means, how much I love him and how much I would be incomplete if he left me for good.

I wanted the second chance you asked me. And I still do. You should have talked to me. I need to see you, at least one more time. We've been best friends since childhood, we don't deserve to end like this. Please, Harry.

I pressed Send and continued with my day, the lump in my throat keeping me company every day. Everyone asked me if I was feeling ok, I was pale, swollen eyes and was barely able to speak. So I would fake a smile at them and tell that I was just tired.

Some people believed in me, others don't.

And when I was surrounded by many people in the clinic, celebrating 4 years of success, I had to run to the bathroom as soon as I read another text message from Harry.

Can you feel it? That weight on the stomach, making sure you feel that anguish. I don't want to lose you. Not your love and surely not our friendship. And for loving you that much I'm asking you to move on and find someone that can make you happy as I will never be able to...

I couldn't read it until the end. I ran to the bathroom to throw up again, but this time I press the call button and it began to ring. After a hard waiting, he answered and sighed.

"Harry, you make me happy. I love you. Only you. Please don't leave me." Before I knew it I was sobbing and pleading for mercy and Harry couldn't handle the emotion, giving in and crying as I was doing.

"Princess... This is the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I have to do it for you."

"Please... don't. You don't know what you're doing to me. I love you so much."

"I love you too..." He sobbed on the other end of the line.

"Look, I'll give you some space. I'll be back to being your best friend if you want. But please, think about this. Don't make this decision for me. I love you, Harry, I love you so much. And I chose you. I want you to be with me until the end of my life. My intentions are set and there is no one else in this world that will change that, no matter what you think and what bullshit the press says. I chose you!!! And you will have to decide what do you want. You have to decide that for me and especially for you. I'll be here. And I'll always be waiting for you. Think about this and whenever you're ready, I will accept and respect that."

Then I hung up the call and turned off my cell phone, sobbing until I was battling for air.

Cleaning my face with fresh water, I left the bathroom and faced the outside world as best as I could, with a fake smile on my face.

"Hey, want to come with us to grab a cup after work?" Catherin asked me as soon as I left the bathroom. She immediately regretted her invitation as she saw my swollen eyes. Since I've been talking to her a lot lately, she was aware of my relationship with Harry and what's been happening. So she grabbed me by my arm and took me back to the bathroom. "What happened? I thought you were feeling better."

"I was... But he sent me a message today. And I just called him..." I couldn't hold myself again, so I started crying on her shoulder.

She was uncertain of what to do or what to say, so she just brushed my hair with the tip of her fingers.

"It's going to be alright. You are made for each other, honey." She admitted. "But you can't go on like this. If he truly loves you, he will have to make a decision. You can't continue like this, Angel."

"I know. And he knows that now... I asked him to think about what he wants and to make a decision."

"And what did he say?" She asked.

"I hung up the call right after saying that." 

Now that I think of it, what a bold move. Stupid!

I ended going home, even though the rest of the coworkers insisted, saying it was only possible because of me. Catherin diverted their attention and eventually I was able to get away and go to bed, to drow in my tears.

Weeks have passed in a blink of an eye. 

I ended up by turning on my phone, only to be notified by several missed calls and text messages from Harry that I never had the courage to open.

He even emailed and even though I read it, I didn't answer him. But he knew I received them.

I tried not to pay attention to magazines and articles about him, but when I read that he was one of the nominees for the Grammys, I couldn't contain the happiness I felt for him. His first solo album was indicated for best album of the year and "Sign of Times" as the best song. So, the rumors were true, then.

And before I knew it, I was already sending him a text message, congratulating him for the achievement. He thanked me, but the conversation ended there. 

And the next weeks, I was focused on my work, more than ever, finding ways to expand the business and increase the rate of success. I made Catherin my new partner. She was from Castleford and I thought why not open a new clinic there and make her the manager?

"Are you fucking serious?" She said with her British accent.

"I'm not fucking anyone, unfortunately. But yes, I'm serious." I laughed and she threw her arms around my neck. "Hey, don't be gay."

"I-- you're just amazing! I'll be back to my family! They will be so happy."

"Yeah, but don't forget about your friends here in Holmes Chapel. And you should visit us often!"

She smiled, hugging me once again. 

"We should celebrate. Diner at my house tonight! And bring your pajamas, we're drinking and you're sleeping over."

"Ok..." I hesitantly said. "Should I be scared?"

"Oh yeah, you should." She smirked and returned to work.

*** 

Later that night, I acknowledged the truth of her words: we were drunk and happy. Like all the problems of the world had just disappeared and I was lighter. Less sad. I guess that's why people drown in alcohol when they have problems. It's a good way to forget about them.

"I have one bottle of tequila left," Catherin said, counting the number of beers spread throughout the living room and the kitchen. "I think we're running out of stock."

"Oh, already? I was just warming up!"

"You can't even walk on a straight line." She lifted her brown but then burst out laughing. That moment was interrupted when my phone rang. With great difficulty, I walked to the phone and saw Harry on the ID. All the drunkness ran out of my body. "You're not going to pick up? Who is it?"

I answered the phone, ignoring her questions.

"Harry?" I quietly said and she facepalmed herself.

"Hey, how are you?"

"I've above the clouds!" I brushed my hair back and let my body fall to the couch with a loud thud. But with the weight of my body, the couch slipped on the carpet and I ended up falling on the floor. Catherin laughed so loud and I couldn't hold it, so I ended up laughing too.

"What's going on?" Harry asked worriedly. "Angel, have you been drinking?"

"What? Me? No!!!" And after a moment of silence, I confessed. "Maybe."

"Who are you with?" He asked, concern increasing on the tone of his voice.

"You have nothing to do with that, Harry," I said. And seeing the devilish look on Catherin's' face I took the opportunity and did something stupid. "I met somene in a bar and I ended up drinking from that people private bar. Why?"

"Don't mock me." He warned.

"Why Harry? Uh? Do you think you have the right to control my life? I cry my ass out for you, I asked you to give us a chance. And every time I'm getting better, you come back to my life and ruin it. Did you tell me to meet another person and be happy?"

"Not some random guy you met on a bar!" He yelled.

"What if I'm going to spend the night with that person? What are you going to do about it? Since you care sooo much about me, now."

"I care about you, Angel. I-- " I interrupted him.

"Oh really? That's why you want me to move on and date someone "normal"." I made a sign with my hands but then felt stupid because he wasn't actually watching me.

"I want the best for you." He whispered and then realization hit him. "But I love you so much. It's too much for one person bear. I tried to go on with my life without you. But since I had you, since I got a taste of you, I can't live without that anymore."

I gulped, electricity running through every inch of my skin because of the adrenaline. Catherin made an "awwwe" look and I gave her a push to the ground.

"You're so unfair, Harry... So unfair." 

"I know. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." He admitted.

"What do you want from me, uh? Isn't it enough what you're putting me through?" Catherin look at me like where the hell did that came from? "Stop playing around as if I'm some kind of toy! Decide or forget me."

"Angel--"

"No. Stop. You have a decision to make. And I have a bottle of tequila to finish. Have a nice day."

Then I hung up the phone, turning it off immediately. No distractions.

"Damn, girl. Remember me to never break up with you." Catherin admitted, holding a hand in the air to help me get up from the floor.

"Don't play with me, I won't be bad to you."

And then we turned to the bottle of Tequila to finish what we started - to forget about Harry and celebrate the expansion of the clinic.


	13. Chapter 13

As soon as my eyes snapped open, they closed immediately due to the intense light coming out of the window. The sun was shining outside with such intensity that my eyes hurt. Or maybe I was just having a hangover and being awake was painful enough.

I groaned when I got to a sitting position, scanning the living room around me. 

Catherin and I fell asleep on the sofa last night, passing out after the last bottle of tequila.

I don't actually remember what happened after the bottle, but I sure do remember what happened before.

"Harry..." I gasped and groaned in pain when a headache was felt.

"Good morning, Angel." Catherin woke up, her hand landing on her forehead due to the pain she was feeling.

"It's not a good morning..." I let my body fall back to the sofa. "I feel like shit now."

And soon after I fell asleep once again only to wake up by the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Catherin had the courage to get up from the couch and cook lunch for both of us.

When I left her house, my headache had softened but my thirst hadn't. So I bought a couple of bottle of water on my way home. I had to start planning carefully how the next investments of the clinic will be so we could make things work. And for that, I needed a clear head.

Unfortunately, Harry didn't leave my mind for a second and remember what I said the night before, made my stomach twist inside me. Regret, maybe. Fear, absolutely.

He didn't say a word to me for the next week. Either way, I wouldn't be able to pay him much attention since I've been always away to have meetings and when I was home, I was working on stuff for the new clinic.

Saturday morning when I finally got ready for my morning run, a knock on my door interrupted my mini-breakfast.

"I'm coming!" I yelled at the door since my mother asked me to go open the door.

When I opened the door, I let the apple fall on the floor, gasping and widening my eyes. Harry lowered himself and picked up the apple, handing it back to me.

"You're here." 

"Always so perceptive." He smiled. "May I come in?"

"Sure..." I whispered since my voice failed on me. I didn't want my mother to hear the conversation, so I guided him to my room.

"So, how have you been?" He casually asked, nervous about the conversation he was trying to make. I noticed a little envelope on his hand but didn't mind it.

"Well. I'm expanding my business to other places." 

"Really? That's amazing!" He coughed, trying to hide his excitement. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you..." After a long moment of awkward silence, I broke it. "What are you really doing here, Harry?"

He sighed and approached me. I cursed him in my thoughts because of the sensations he was still able to provoke me even after everything that happened.

"I've been thinking about this. About us. And you're right, you're not a toy and if I have to make a decision, it has to be permanent. It's no secret what I feel about you..." He muffled a laugh. "I practiced this speech over and over again in front of a mirror, but now that I'm here, I'm terrified. Terrified of saying the wrong things. Terrified of losing you because of my stupidity. The thing is: I love you. And I want you in my life. No matter what."

I gasped and he continued.

"I'm not asking you a second chance. I don't know if that exists anymore. But want you to have something." He handed me the envelope and asked me to open it. I saw a plane ticket to New York and an address and a Grammy Awards ticket with my name on it. Since he noticed my puzzled look he pointed to each paper. "This is a plane to go to New York for the Grammys, this is the address you should give the driver and this is the ticket to get you inside. There's a seat reserved for you. I'll be playing at the beginning of the ceremony. If you go, if you show up there, I'll know for sure that there will be nothing that could tear us apart. I'll be sure that our love is stronger than anything. And I'll certainly be the happiest man in the world. But if you decided otherwise, I will respect you. I will accept that I won't be a part of your life. But know that I will always love you, no matter what."

He pulled me to a hug and the scent of his chest made my heart race and tear started forming in my eyes. I inhaled as much as possible as if it was the last time, but he pulled away almost immediately and I almost groan in displeasure.

"You don't need to tell me anything. You don't need to give an answer right away. I'll know the answer next Saturday."

I just nodded my head and he kissed me on my lips before leaving the room.

I just stand there like a fool, unable to move or pronounce a word as I watch him leave. The conversation was a wrecking ball to the walls I've built around my heart during the last months, but the kiss... Oh, the kiss. It felt like nothing tear us apart like we were invincible together.

And when I was finally able to make a move, I ran out of my room, after him, but it was too late. He was gone. 

I looked to my hands, to the envelope Harry gave me and took a deep breath. When I turned around to go upstairs, I jumped back startled by my mother's' curious gaze.

"What did Harry want? He left so quickly. Are you alright?" 

I ended up showing her the tickets inside the envelope and she gasped. But when she asked me what I was going to do, I didn't know what to say.

"Well, just in case you decide to go, shouldn't you see dresses? It's a gala, after all, you should want to be in your best." She winked at me and I smiled.

It wouldn't hurt anyone if I just go to the mall, would it?

I got dressed properly instead of my morning run' outfit and drove to the nearest shopping center. I know Harry was fond of the way red would contrast with my skin, so I entered a store that had the most beautiful red dress I've ever since by a fair price.

For a second I thought it would be too much. That it would be too flashy and I wanted discretion after all. However, if I chose to be with him, I'll have to learn to deal with the flashes and the cameras. I would have to fully accept the additional features that come with that kind of relationship. So it doesn't matter if my dress is too flashy or not. At least I would dress the way I like and the way I know Harry wouldn't resist. But, of course, all of this IF I chose to go.

The lady from the store asked me if I wanted to try the dress since I was just staring at it for quite some time.

"Uh?" I was snapped back to the real world.

"I asked if you want to try it on. You don't need to buy it, but for the way you're staring at the dress, I know there's something deep inside you that is curious about how it would fit. So I say, let's try it." The smiling lady took the dress off the hanger and gave it to me, guiding me to the fitting room. 

Without saying a word I did as commanded and started taking off my clothes to dress the beautiful red gown. And when the lady buttoned up my back I gasped to the mirror. 

"Well, it definitely fits you. And it's your color." She said.

"Yes, it is." I smiled.

"Something tells me your hesitation is not about if you should buy the dress or not. You're uncertain if you should go to the event that asks for a dress like this. Am I wrong?"

I looked at her with widened eyes. "No, you're not wrong."

"With a dress like this, I would go to every event in the world." She said. "Is it because of someone?"

"Yes..." I admitted.

"You're not the first that comes to me in the same situation, you know?"

"Really?" I asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Yes. In fact, they all end up getting the dress and go for it. Because if they come here to see the dress that means they are considering the possibility of going. And if that happens, you should." She grabbed me by the shoulders and gently guided me to the mirror. "Look at you, darling. No man in the world could resist such a beautiful woman. And if he loves you as much as I can see it in your eyes, go. Don't live a life of If. Do it."

Fifteen minutes later I left the store, after getting back to my normal clothes. The nice lady from the store smiled at me as I disappeared in front of her eyes and sighed. She was used to all kinds of person in her store, she has years and years of experience and she was never wrong. That's why I was carrying the dress inside a bag, with a new feeling of confidence building up.


	14. Chapter 14

The week passed faster than I expected. I had my bags all packed up, just in case. I had the dress properly cleaned and folded in the right way so it could fit in the airplane without getting ruined.

When my mother saw my dress she couldn't contain her tears. She grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me to a hug saying how much she wanted me to be happy and how much she liked the idea of Harry and me.

"I still have until next weekend to decide if I'm going or not, mom. I'm still not sure."

"Oh, shut it." She took the dress off the bag and scanned it. "You wouldn't buy this dress if you didn't want to go. It's going to look perfect on you. Have you decided on the hairstyle? And the makeup?"

"Mom! Calm down. You're making me nervous." She glared at me with a smirk on her lips. "No, I haven't decided on that. But I'm going for simplicity, the dress is too flashy already."

"Hmmm..." My mother analyzed the dress and then looked at me. "Maybe wavy hair..."

I rolled my eyes at her and took the dress from her hands, properly folding it inside the bag.

***

Saturday morning I woke up nervous. I was trembling and anxious and couldn't stay in bed any longer. I had to go for my morning run.

"Where are you going?" My mother asked me before I leave the house.

"Uh, run?"

"Oh no, you don't. I've got a full day scheduled on the salon for you. Got get changed and let's go."

"What???" 

"You heard me. Go get changed, young lady!" 

I stared at her surprised. For a moment we remained quiet and serious looking at each other and then we burst out laughing. But still, she was being serious and I had to change anyway.

She was right. It was a full day really. I had a facial treatment and a relaxing massage. After that, they had my hair and makeup done quickly, going for a simple look. Soft as I am, I bet I'm going to ruin any makeup I put on, so I opted for something simple. Concealer, eyeliner, Rimmel and gloss - something that I could easily do at home by myself.

After that my mother made sure I ate something before taking me to the airport. The lump in my throat tightened and I felt like I was going to vomit. But I didn't and that tight was my company the whole way to the plane.

"Your ticket and identification, please." The security from the airline asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. Trembling I did as ordered and continued my way to the plane. It was going to be a looong flight, so I put on my earphones and listened to music for the next several hours. Harry Styles was definitely on my playlist, as long as other artists like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queen, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip, I fell asleep - thank God - and for some reason, I started dreaming about the first time Harry kissed me, away from the crowd, in the fitting room of the bar he just played. I could feel the warmth of his lips on mine, the way his fingers intertwined with the strands of my dark blond hair and how he broke the kiss to catch his breath. With a puzzled look on his eyes, he stared at me and intensified the kiss. In my dream, we were never interrupted by his manager. In my dream, he told me he loves me and that he wants me. And before I knew it there was flashes and cameras and reporters all around us, suffocating us with questions and assumptions. Harry tried to protect my body but the circle around us was getting tighter and tighter.

"Miss? Miss! We just landed." I was brought back to the real world by the gentle old man sitting by my side. He woke me up because the plane was almost empty and I was still asleep.

I thanked him, embarrassed with the situation and left the plane in a hurry to find my bags.

That dream, though, it didn't let my memory. That could become our lives. And that's when I started wondering if I did the right thing.

I took the phone in my hands and called Catherin. She took too long to pick up and I was having an anxiety attack, trying not to ruin my makeup.

"Hey, calm down. Breathe, honey, breathe. In and Out. In and Out." She said as calm as she could, and I obeyed her instructions, focusing on the air entering and leaving my lungs. "It's ok to be afraid. To be nervous. You're about to be with the love of your life. And the world will know it. It's only normal that you're nervous about it."

"You think?" I asked, sitting against the airport wall. 

"Yes, I really do. I won't lie to you, it's probably going to be hard to deal with that world, but if you let Harry help you if you let him protect you, it's going to be fine. You once told me love wasn't enough for that relationship to work. But you're so fucking wrong. It is enough because you will find a way to make it work. Now, get your ass on the bathroom, put on the dress and the heels, put your gloss on and go and be happy honey."

"I will," I whispered and took a deep breath. "I will."

I hung up the phone, got up from the floor and walked to the bathroom. The dress was impeccably perfect inside the bag, no wrinkles or bad smell. My mother had her tricks and told me how to do things. She's a businesswoman, and often she has to travel to other places for different kinds of events. So she knows her tricks.

One look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and let everyone around look at me. To avoid that much of attention I put a long jacket on top of the dress and finally walked out to get a cab

"Where to, lady?" The man asked, with his body turned back to face me. 

I gave him the address and he lifted a brow at me and studied my clothes. Then I showed him the tickets to the Grammy's' Awards and he smiled, nodding his head.

"I'm sorry if you're famous and I don't recognize you. You people seem so different from TV."

"Oh, I'm not famous. At least, not yet. My boyfriend is." My boyfriend? After all this time, is that what he is? I had no idea, but I still like the way it sounded.

"May I ask you, who your boyfriend is?" The curious driver peered over the rearview mirror.

"He's a singer. Harry. Harry Styles."

"The boy from the One Direction?" He asked surprised.

"The one and only." I smiled.

"Wow. Ok. But why aren't you going with him?" He lifted a brow.

"We kinda... had a fight and broke up." I looked out of the window and remained quiet as I examined the cheerful streets of New York. My mouth was opened as I saw the landscape in front of me, filled with busy people, famous stores and famous monuments. The things that you only see in the movies.

"Where are you from?" He snapped me out of my mesmerized trance. "England, is it? The accent is notable."

"Yes, I'm from England."

"And you came all the way to New York because of The Grammys? Well, if that man doesn't take you back, he is dumbest than I imagined."

This caused me to laugh. I was the one to take him back, but let keep the man innocent in the matter.

For some time I was unaware of how late I was. The ceremony was supposed to start at 9 P.M. and it was already 9.20. P.M. I peered over to the clock in the middle of the control area of the car and the driver noticed my anxiety.

"Relax, we're almost there. We take right in the next street and we're there."

I leaned against my seat and breath heavy, getting my mind ready for the big impact in my life as soon as I walked out of that car. My heart was racing and my head was dizzy and I wasn't capable of controlling my trembling hands.

And finally the car stopped and the driver turned to me.

"We're here. I'll be here with your bags, waiting for you until you're able to tell me where to drop them off. And good luck."

"How much for the drive?" I asked, already getting money from the purse.

"Please, it's nothing. This one's on the house." He smiled and I smiled back nervously. "Go. I wish you the best."

I closed my eyes and took another deep breath.

***

Harry was impatient since the beginning of the show. His friends and family didn't know why he was so nervous. He kept looking around, biting his fingernails. There was an empty seat by his side, reserved to someone he didn't tell anyone who should seat there.

His mother Anne was the only one that knew the whole truth and she gave her dear son a pat on his back and a smile to calm him down. It wasn't working.

The ceremony was almost starting and the little hope that he had inside his heart was fading away gradually until he found himself sinking in his seat as the presenters started talking, greeting the cheerful room and reading carefully the lines on the big screen behind the audience. 

Harry would be singing half an hour after the ceremony starts his song "Sign of the times" and "Ever since New York" later. And before he knew it he was already being dragged to the backstage to start their warmups and preparations for the show.

"Harry, focus" His manager Jeff snapped his fingers in front of Harry's' eyes, bringing him back the real world. "Look, I don't know what's happening to you and you sure know by now that you can talk to me about anything. But right now I need you to focus. You're about to get on stage, man!"

He shook his shoulders and slapped him gently in the face. Harry forced a smile at him and let people equip him to the stage. He was using wireless in-earphone so it was quick until he was ready to go on stage.

He heard his name and the crowd cheering, clapping and screaming his name. 

Harry took a deep breath and walked to the stage, he cheering increasing slightly at his presence.

He scanned the crowd one last time, hoping to get a sight of me, but nothing. The room seemed empty to him. As his heart. He thought that maybe it wasn't worth it, none of that was worth it because he didn't have me. All his life he fought hard to get where he was but it wasn't enough for him. His dream would only be complete if I was in it.

The piano started, masking the pain inside his heart and the twist inside his stomach. He closed his eyes and started singing the song that represented all the years he has known me since we were little kids. How we grew up together, the love between us growing without us noticing it. And how we had our ups and downs through that love story.

A love story that had come to an end.

He tried to show a strong presence and a strong voice, but his eyes were threatening him as tears started forming in his eyes. Harry tried hard to conceal them, closing his eyes and do what he was born to do.

When he started the chorus he opened his eyes and his voice almost cracked.

Close to his mother was someone in a red dress that caught his attention.

And the tears finally left his eyes and fell on the floor.


	15. Chapter 15

Harry was too nervous to finish the song. Four minutes seemed to him like years have passed. 

He tried to focus on the crowd and on the song but as much as he tried to fight it, his eyes fell on the red dress too often. And he couldn't help but smile warmly.

At first, I thought that he was about to jump out of the stage to hug me, but he kept his posture and sang the song until the end, shining brighter than the sun. He was truly amazing on stage, his voice was strong but sweet as an angel's'. 

I stared at him the whole time since I entered the big room. People eyed me curiously as I walked over to my seat in the front. At first, I had my head looking down, but as soon as Harry's' voice echoed through the room I walked with my head up, heart racing inside my chest.  _If I didn't have the heart transplant I would be on the hospital by now._

I saw his mother and walked over to her side and she couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time.

And when Harry's' eyes connected with mine for the first time, I felt like the room was suddenly empty and all that existed as him and I.

I couldn't help but smile at him with tears strolling down my face as he sang the final verses of the sang with so much power and so much soul that made my legs tremble.

As soon as he was finished, he ignored the comments of the organization in his earpiece, telling him he should go backstage before returning to his seat. But he just jumped out of the stage and without second thoughts he cupped my cheeks and pulled me to a deep kiss. Ignoring everyone around us whistling and clapping, he deepened the kiss, pulling me close by my waist, tears running down both of our faces.

"You came." He said out of breath.

"Always so perceptive" I smiled and planted another kiss on his lips. "You know what this means, right? There's no turning back. You're stuck with me."

"Good." And he kissed me once again, not minding the audience around us.

 _Well, what a show!_  The male presenter said.

 _That's the definition of romanticism. Man learn!_  The female presenter said.

And we couldn't help but smile, sitting on our seats, fingers intertwined through all the ceremony. We didn't stop talking to each other about everything. We had so much to catch up, so much to talk about that we couldn't wait. If he wasn't nominated to two categories we would have fled the show already.

But Harry had a job to do and one more song to sing. The beautiful ballad of  _Ever since New York_ started and my heart melted as soon as Harry started singing it. His pupils were fully dilated as if he was in a dark room and he couldn't hide his happiness to the crowd. He was singing with a full smile on his lips.

The time of the revelation of the winners has finally arrived.

I intertwined my hand with Harry's', tightening my grip to give him strength.

The presenter was announcing the nominees and showing a quick look of each work. I smiled when the video of Sign of Times started and looked at Harry that had his gaze locked in me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're beautiful. Have I told you that?"

I blushed and he smiled.

"Even if I don't get any Grammy, I already have my trophy. Thank you for being here. Thank you for the opportunity."

"I'll always be here for you, Harry." I kissed his knuckles and focused on the speech in the main stage. There was a suspense drummer in the back and the lights were dim for a second when  _Sign of Times by Harry Styles_  was announced as the winner.

Harry wasn't really paying attention. He was in a deep happy trance staring at me with his warm smile. I had to poke him with my elbow to snap him out of his trance and back to the real world where he had just won a Grammy.

He went on stage and received his first Grammy. Everyone in the room stopped clapping and heard his speech.

"This song talks about how it took me many years to realize there are certain things we cannot change. We need to live our lives and be happy, before its too late. It's a reminder to look at the good things in life. It talks about a relationship that ends for now, but maybe someday, somehow, somewhere, you can find each other again, and be happy together. I finally achieved that moment. So I want to thank my team, my loyal fans, family and friends for the support. And I also want to thank the person that made all this possible. My Angel. I love you, forever. Thank you and good night."

He went backstage and after some minutes he appeared by my side, the usual Harry's' smirk on his face and the Grammy on his arms.

"Congratulations, baby." His mother hugged him, her tears messing up her makeup.

"Congratulations, Harry," I said, kissing his cheek when he sat by our side.

But this didn't take long. He had to get up again to receive the Grammy for the Best Album of the year category. By this time, his mother couldn't see anything due to the tears and the blurred makeup and somehow I found it funny and hugged her.

"Well, what a night." Harry started his last speech. "Two Grammys in one night. The first two Grammys at all. Wow. I want to thank you so much. This album was inspired by the long-lasting relationship I have with my girlfriend." I gasped when he started talking about our life. "I met her when we were just two kids and we were never apart since then. She was my best friend. Like a sister, really. She was the one that gave me the courage to fight for my dreams and to never quit. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her. I'm being honest with you. That's the best friend I could ever ask God. So I finally thank God for putting her in my life and give me the opportunity to show her how much I love her every day."

When he got back from backstage he kissed me more passionately than ever.

"Now, can we sneak away from here?" He whispered in my ear.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked excitedly.

"Well, I could steal my mom's' car and show you the city. But I can always show my hotel room, you must be tired from your trip." His eyes darkened a little but he tried to conceal his desires.

"Well, I think the city can wait." 

He widened his eyes at me and gave me a devilish smirk. Then he whispered something to his mother and she nodded with a smile on her face.

Harry grabbed my hand and walked me through the corridor to the exit door, turning left to the back door of the auditorium. As we were walking away, people - most of them I recognized immediately and almost screamed with the excitement - smiled at us, watching us sneaking out of the ceremony.

I told him about the taxi driver waiting outside and after a quick call, he took care of the matter.

"Please, have a seat." He opened the door of his mother's' car for me like a gentleman and got inside after me, asking the driver to get us to the hotel.

"The city is beautiful." Now it was fully dark outside, it was almost 1 P.M. but the city was illuminated by lights everywhere and there were still people on the street. It almost seemed like it was day time. It is really the  _city that never sleeps._

"Yes, it is," Harry whispered as he was staring at me. My eyes were focused on the landscape outside when the car stopped and Harry opened the door for me.

"Shall we?" Harry said, holding an arm for me to grab. His pupils were fully dilated, his breathing was becoming uneven and he couldn't help but stare at me, to my eyes, to my lips, and to my neck as people were entering and exiting the elevator.

At last, we arrived at Harry's' floor and the tension inside that elevator was heavier and heavier by the minute.

You would expect a luxurious hotel room, but instead, it was more Harry's' style. It was simple and cozy, with a small balcony with a beautiful view of the city. I opened the window's' door to have a peak but Harry turned me around suddenly and pinned me against the wall, kissing me fervently. His sultry hands started unbuttoning my dress slowly, but as soon as it was lost he took it off, exposing my matching red lace lingerie.

He lifted a brow at me, but his mouth couldn't stay away for too long.

With the help of his hands, he pulled me to his lap, connecting my legs behind his waist and took me to his bed, finally claiming what was his.

After that night, Harry and I became stronger together, fighting against everyone that tried to tear us apart. He kept passing a message of love and friendship through his songs, winning more and more achievements.

But at the end of the day, his dreams weren't complete if I wasn't there. 

I was his dream and he was finally living it.

 

**THE END**

______________________________________________________________

_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8R-zl7SDUU ---- You see his smile whenever he looked at the audience of the show? That's exactly how I imagined him smiling at Angel. The warm and pure smile that keep our hearts beating._


End file.
